Burning Spirit
by faithy waithy
Summary: Sequel to Burning Flame: Amber continues to travel with the avatar and her family helping Aang seek an earth bending teacher, while at the same time she tries to discover why she was given these strange unnatural abilities. Follow her as she learns things about her past and discovers more about herself. Follows television series. Sister Fic. OCXOC. Cannon pairings. Read/ Review!
1. Need Answers

**A/N; So here's the first Chapter. Hope you enjoy. ****Thanks to everyone who's reading my story. It means a lot.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender**

But I do own Kale and Amber ;)

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A cold breeze hit my skin as I stood by the railing of the water tribe vessel we were traveling on. It had been two days since the water tribe celebration, as well as since the kiss. My face burned at the memory of Kale's lips on my own. Sokka had quickly pulled us apart after a second of our affectionate touch, saying something like, "Alright love birds... That's enough sucking face." Then he forced me to the other side of the room so he could distance me from Kale. Sokka was really protective of me, and at times I appreciated it. At other times though, it was very annoying.

"Hey... There you are," Katara said, stepping up beside me by the railing. We both stared out toward the setting sun taking in the streaks of fire red rays that shot across the horizon. "We were all looking for you. Kale told us since we started this voyage your minds been someplace else. Aang even said you seem out of it whenever he talks to you. What's on your mind?"

Looking at my gloved hands, I shut my eyes as those same words shot through my head. "_Agony… pain… blue fire… death."_ The fortune tellers reading kept rolling through my head like a wave. Even if Katara and Sokka constantly had assured me she was a phony who only cared about publicity, I feared they were somewhat wrong. Aunt Wu wouldn't have told me I was going to die if she didn't believe it to be true.

"Nothing," I whispered, opening my eyes and staring back at the descending sun.

My sister sighed. "Yeah right... You honestly think I can't read you Amber? I've been with you for nine years. It's easy to see you're lying."

Tightening my fists as I realized I'd been caught, I decided to tell her just to get it off my chest. "It's just... There's something that won't escape my mind, and it causes me to wake up every night screaming from the nightmares it gives."

Katara looked surprised, but she stayed silent letting me continue.

"Aunt Wu's fortune keeps repeating in my head. Maybe it's because at the North Pole I was close to death already, so my minds scared that I truly will die. It was terrifying being trapped inside that dark fog unable to come out for so long. If what she said is true, and I do die, I'm scared I'll be in that dark fog forever."

Tears slid down my cheeks at the thought of death. My spine shivered as I pictured blue fire shooting toward me and consuming me. "Hey... Calm down," Katara said, taking my shaking hands in her own and forcing me to turn toward her. "Even if you believe what Aunt Wu said, just think about it Amber... We don't know anyone in this world who can shoot blue fire. And even if we do meet someone with this ability, we will all protect you. We we're bad at it in the past, but this time we'll make sure no one hurts you again."

Smiling weakly at my sisters words, I felt my pained heart ease slowly. Nodding, I threw my arms around Katara giving her a hug.

"Come on," she said, pulling away from me. "Let's go get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow." She then turned and started to head back to the hatch that led below deck. Staying where I was, I looked over at the sunset once more with a weak smile. Guess it's better to live as many days as I could till I did die.

That night as I crawled onto the cot beside Katara, who was already asleep, I closed my eyes and began to dream.

"_Mommy!" my six year old self cried as I ran over to my mom who was walking down the fire nation palace hall. "Mommy! I need help!" My mother kept walking, her feet only moving faster as I tried to run for her. "No! Please wait mommy!"_

_The ground underneath me gave way and I screamed as I fell into a dark abyss. When I landed, I found I was now in a dark cold cell with a chain clamped around my wrist, and I also found I was my present age. "Your mommy won't save you this time," a cold voice hissed, and I looked up in terror to see Zhao. "You're mine!" His eyes were deeply filled with hate, and he raised his fist to strike._

"_No!" I cried, and then screamed as the fire shot at me. As orange light filled my vision, I found my body immediately get overlapped by blue. Surfacing in what appeared to be an ocean, I coughed out as water filled my lungs. _

"_What's this?" a hard voice hissed. _

_Turning from where I swam in the water with horror, I saw my father the Fire Lord standing on a giant vessel looking down at me. "No!" I cried again, and then turned to swim. As I turned I found I was now on the steel of the ship, and my father stood over me. _

"_You should have died when you were a kid... Now your death will only be more painful for you," he hissed, and then lunged forward with blue fire shining in his eyes. As he reached for my neck, I screamed and shut my eyes not ready to die._

"_I don't want to die!"_

My eyes shot open and it was then I had sat up in my cot with tears falling down my cheeks. My mouth hung open from the words I'd just spoke out loud, and I saw on the cot beside me Katara looked over at me with deep worry.

"Hey!" Sokka suddenly shouted, running into the room with Kale and Aang following behind. "We heard screaming. What's wrong?"

Calming my ragged breaths, I tried to grasp that it was just a nightmare and I was awake. Katara hugged me tightly trying to calm me some more. "Was it a memory?" she asked.

Shaking my head, I whispered softly, "Just a nightmare." Katara seemed like she wanted to pry, but she could see I didn't really want to talk about it. As everyone went back to sleep after making sure I was okay, I saw Kale gesture for me to follow him. Getting out of bed, I followed Kale onto the moonlit deck. Only two warriors and one lookout were awake.

We both stood at the railing together, and I looked down at the moonlit waters with sad eyes, and then looked up at the moon. _Hey Yue..._

A hand took mine comfortingly and I looked at Kale with question. "Do you want to talk about it...? About the nightmare?"

Shaking my head, I said, "There's not much to tell. It was pretty much just because I'm scared of dying."

He sighed. "Sokka told me about that... You shouldn't let a fortune get you so stressed. Fortune Tellers have a one in a million chance of being correct. I really don't think you're going to die just because some woman said you will."

We stood there for a few moments in silence, till I finally said, "I've already almost died once, so there's a high chance I will actually die soon."

"Stop talking like that!" he snapped, and then suddenly he turned me so that I was facing him. "You will not die. No matter what I won't allow it. No one's taking you away from me again, okay?"

He surprised me by how serious he was, and I had no choice but to relax my tense body and believe him. "Okay," I whispered, deciding he was right. Worrying would get me nowhere.

Kale sighed, then pulled me to him and hugged me in his warm embrace. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, so stop worrying," he said softly in my ear, and I closed my eyes as he kissed me softly on the forehead. He made me feel so secure in his arms. Pulling away, I saw his eyes were tired and I knew he needed to go back to sleep.

"You should head back to bed... I'll go to," I said. He didn't believe me, so he ended up walking me back below deck and back into the small room I was staying in with Katara. Getting on the small cot, I lied down and closed my eyes so he'd think I'd sleep too.

His hand brushed against my cheek, and I smiled at his kind warm touch. Then I heard him leave the room and I waited a few minutes till I was sure he was in bed. When I was certain he was asleep, I got back up and walked back out on deck. The warriors were surprised to see me a second time, but I ignored them walking over to the end of the boat where Appa was floating behind. His eyes were shut and he was dreaming too.

Using the rope that connected both sides of Appa's saddle to the ship to pull him along, I managed to hop onto it and make my way down like a tightrope walker. This was one skill no one, not even my family, knew I could do. The ability came back to me one night a few weeks ago, when I started to remember Mai and Ty Lee.

"_Come on Amber! You can do it!" Ty Lee encouraged, standing in the middle of the rope like it was the easiest thing in the world. We were both five, and Ty Lee was a shorter but prettier girl with her long brown hair in a braid. "It's all about shifting your weight!"_

_Gulping, I held on tightly to the tree I was standing on, staring at the rope that stretched from my tree to one that was a goof five yards away. "Mommy will kill me," I muttered under my breath, and then I looked down at Zuko who watched from below with worry. Mai stood beside him worried as well. I was at least twenty feet in the air._

_Taking a step onto the rope, I saw Ty Lee beam. "Yeah! That's it! Now slowly ease your way!"_

_Taking a foot forward, I stepped completely on the rope and gasped as I felt gravity try to pull me down. Turning, I rushed back to the tree. "I can't do it Ty Lee! I'm scared!"_

_Ty Lee walked back over to me as if she were walking on leveled ground. "Come on... Just don't look down. Look straight ahead and think of it as walking on a stair rail. You've done that many times!"_

_Looking into her soft brown eyes, I weakly nodded and took a step forward again. She grinned and somersaulted back to the middle of the rope. "Okay! Come on!"_

_Closing my eyes, I felt for the three inch rope and pictured I was stepping on the stair rail that went downward. One step at a time, I found myself balanced and walking across the rope with my bare feet. "You're doing it!" Ty Lee cried, and I opened my eyes to see she was on the other tree and I was already in the middle of the rope. My eyes widened at her words, and I grinned._

_After another minute of walking across the rope, I finally found the surface of the tree limb and stepped off. When I no longer felt gravity was pulling me down, I grinned. "I did it!" I cried, looking at Ty Lee who was as excited as me. "Now I can go into the circus with you!"_

_She laughed and hugged me to her, saying, "You're a natural!"_

Hopping from the rope onto Appa's saddle I looked back to see the ship about ten yards in front of me. Appa must've been lonely this far from everyone. "Hey boy," I said, and he groaned to let me know he was glad I'd come. With a sigh I plopped down and leaned against the side of the saddle staring up at the stars. As I did I began to think about some things.

One thing I thought of was if my father ever regretted sending me away to die. Did he sometimes think about it and feel guilty for trying to kill his daughter? Probably not, but I could dream.

Then I thought about my birth mom. Was she really alive out there somewhere, and if so would I ever get to see her again? The chances were very low, and I knew it was probably not ever going to happen, but I could dream about that one too.

My mind then took me to Uncle Iroh and Zuko. They'd disappeared after the whole battle at the North Pole, so I hoped they were okay. Kale told me when I was awake enough to comprehend, that Zuko was the one who carried me to Katara so she could heal me. Zuko truly did care about me, and I loved him for it. Deep down I hoped that in the future after this war we could be family again.

My mind then took me to the gold bracelet around my wrist. Lighting a purple glowing flame in my hand, I pulled my knees to my chest as I stared at the supernatural flames. Why was I granted these strange abilities by Roku, and I wondered if mom had known this was what I'd receive as a result of wearing the bracelet.

"_The bracelet did not give you these abilities Amber... You were born with them. You are discovering them now because you are accepting them more than you had in the past. The bracelet is to link me to you so I can protect and guide you, but your power is yours alone." _Roku said to me, making me jump slightly as his voice came out of nowhere.

But what about at the North Pole! I cried in my head. When I was at my weakest you gave me the strength to fight more!

"_Is that what you really believe...? You truly do not see your worth my dear. It was you, and only you alone that gathered up the energy inside you to defeat Zhao. You found the strength when you were at your weakest. Even when you were with king Bumi at the time, or fighting off Zhao's men at the Temple, I never gave you that strength. It was always you."_

My eyes shot to the bracelet amazed. "You mean everything I did in the past... The glow around my whole body, and the sudden bending of purple fire... It was never you or any of the spirits? It was always me?"

"_Now you understand."_

"How though? It can't be because your blood runs through my veins."

There was a pause, and I waited impatiently for him to answer. He answered after a long pause. _"You'll know more soon. I'm sorry, but I have to keep you in the dark for now."_

"What! Why!" I cried, but the warmth of the bracelet disappeared and Roku left me.

Sighing, I dropped on the saddle bitterly muttering, "Thanks for nothing Roku." Then I fell back and stared up at the moon once more. As I did I closed my eyes and tried to escape everything, but my dreams wouldn't carry me away this time. That night I went sleepless once more, and I knew it would bite me in the butt in the morning when exhaustion would hit me.

It was around sunrise when people started to wake up. At that time I'd used the rope to walk easily back onto the ship. Tightrope walking was probably my favorite memory so far. When I got on deck I saw two warriors look at me with amazement. They'd seen me on the rope, and I blushed quickly walking past them. Wonder if that's how Katara and Sokka would react if they found out?

"Amber!" Katara cried, and I turned in surprise to see her walking toward me, Aang behind her. Aang looked as tired as I did, and I wondered if he hadn't slept like me. "You okay? You look tired."

Nodding, I leaned against the ship railing. "Yep… Couldn't be better." She stared at me suspiciously, and at one point she looked like she wanted to say something else. Instead she sighed and walked away.

Kale and Sokka soon emerged from below deck as well, and I quickly tried to cover the fact that I was tired by smiling widely. "Hey guys. Sleep well?"

Kale leaned against the rail beside me. "Yeah… But your brother snores."

"I do not! Aang was the one screaming this morning. You should be blaming him!" Sokka snapped.

My eyes widened. "Why was Aang screaming?"

Sokka shrugged. "He had a nightmare I guess. You didn't hear him?"

Shaking my head, I looked out toward the rising sun. "No. I came up here a while ago."

Kale looked at me with worry while Sokka sighed. "Let me guess… You couldn't sleep." Sokka said.

Rolling my eyes, I looked away from his eyes. "I'm fine Sokka. Stop worrying so much. We'll probably be flying on Appa most of the day anyway so I can sleep then."

As I spoke this I saw Chief Arnook and Master Pakku come on deck. We all then had a nice breakfast of seal jerky and some moon peaches, and I heard Katara excitedly speak to Master Pakku about how glad she was she got to learn water bending from him. Kale, Sokka, and Aang were blabbering on about starting Aang's earth bending training, and I was glad to see Aang was a bit happier than before with his whole nightmare and all.

When it was time to leave, we all stood and untied Appa's reins so he could fly up on deck. He landed on the small water tribe vessel and we placed the supplies Chief Arnook was providing us in Appa's saddle. It was a bag of water tribe money, a few bags of food, and some new water tribe clothes as well as sleeping bags.

Before we left, Master Pakku granted us with gifts. For Katara he gave her some water from the spirit oasis, for Aang some scrolls to help him master water bending, for Kale a water tribe sword made from a very big sharpened whale tooth, and for me a knife with water tribe symbols on it. Kale and I also both received a sheath for our weapons which I was very thankful for. Poor Sokka got nothing though, and I patted his back as he moped.

"Fly straight to the Earth Kingdom base to the east of here. General Fong will provide you with an escort to Omashu. There you'll be safe to begin your earth bending training with King Bumi," Master Pakku said.

We all thanked him and then Aang sent Appa into the sky. As we flew east I closed my eyes enjoying the breeze that caressed my face. It was peaceful up in the sky, and I think I loved flying the most. "Are you sure the general won't attack Amber and I? I mean we are fire nation," Kale asked after about an hour of flying.

Sokka waved his hand. "Nah. You'll be fine. Chief Arnook sent him a message and told him you guys were good, so he shouldn't hurt you."

Crossing my arms, I muttered, "You guys also said Jet wouldn't hurt me, but we see how that went."

Everyone looked over at me, and I saw Sokka, Katara, and Aang nod with guilt. Kale looked confused. "Who's Jet?"

"An annoying pain in the butt who tried to have me killed," I muttered, remembering the guy with the hook swords who really hated my guts. "He drugged me and tied me to a dam he tried to blow up."

Kale shook his head in disbelief. "We can't leave you alone for five minutes."

Smiling weakly, I pulled my knees close to my chest. "That's me... always prone to danger."

When we eventually got to the Earth Kingdom base it was about four hours of flying and we were ready to get off Appa. The base was huge, with enormous walls surrounding it to keep the fire benders out. Landing in the middle of a large entrance to a huge stone building, we found General Fong and his soldiers were already waiting for us. Walking through the massive stone building, we approached the general who sat on a chair with excited green eyes. He was barefoot, probably in his late forties, with a brown beard that stretched down to his chest, and he wore this ugly green cape.

"I am General Fong. And welcome to all of you, great heroes! Appa, Momo, brave Sokka, the mighty Katara, the strong Kale, and the powerful Amber." At the generals words I knew he was just trying to butter us up. Narrowing my eyes at him, I knew this was just his way of saying he wanted something.

"Avatar Aang, we were all amazed at the stories of how you single-handedly wiped out an entire Fire Navy fleet at the North Pole. I can't imagine what it feels like to wield such devastating power. It's an awesome responsibility," he said.

Now I knew something was definitely going on. Roku suddenly said in my mind, _You can't allow him to use Aang like this. He plans to make Aang go into the avatar state. _I assumed since Roku didn't like this it was a bad thing. Walking over to Aang, I said, "We're only here for an escort General Fong. What you want of Aang won't happen."

The General looked taken back by what I'd spoken. "How do you know what I'm planning?"

"Avatar Roku told me. He also says it's a terrible idea."

Sokka, Katara, Kale, and Aang were looking at me with utter surprise. General Fong looked aggravated by me getting in the way of his plans. "Yes… I've heard stories about your mysterious connection with Avatar Roku. Let me assure you though, that he can't control what the avatar _now_ wants to do. With that being said," the general turned to Aang, "Avatar… You're ready to face the Fire Lord now."

"What? No I'm not!" Aang cried.

Stepping protectively in front of him, I said, "Are you crazy! Aang just learned water bending and he still needs to learn earth and fire bending! He's definitely not ready to face the Fire Lord."

The General smirked. "And you'd say that wouldn't you. You probably don't want him hurting your father, right princess?"

Glaring with hatred, I snapped, "My father can rot in his grave for all I care! I'm only concerned for Aang!"

The General scoffed. "I've had enough of you. Guards, take the avatars loud mouth friend to the room they'll be staying at."

"Wait! You can't just take my friend!" Aang complained, stepping in front of me. The General's eye twitched when he saw the avatar defend me. "And besides, I have no clue what any of you are talking about. Why would I face the Fire Lord now?"

"Why? Because with the kind of power you possess—power enough to destroy hundreds of battleships in a matter of minutes—you could defeat the Fire Lord now!"

Sokka stepped up now. "But sir, the thing is Aang can only do those things when he's in the avatar state."

Aang added, "See, it's this special state where-"

Fong cut him off. "I'm well aware. Your eyes and tattoos glow and you're able to summon unbelievable power. Without you we'd be slaughtered before we even reach their shores. But with you leading the way as the ultimate weapon, we could cut a swath right through to the heart of the Fire Nation."

"Are you crazy? Aang could get himself killed!" I cried.

Kale suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me back slightly, probably because he saw my fists begin to steam. "Calm down," he whispered. At once I calmed and tried to let my anger leave.

In the end Aang went against my warnings and decided to try and go freely into the avatar state. As he practiced with the general, Kale and I decided to not get in anyone's way and just hang out in our large earth kingdom room the general gave us all to share. Lying on a pile of pillows, I sighed trying to calm my rage.

"That man is insane," Kale muttered.

"He's not the craziest person I've ever met. Zhao was ten times worse, then Jet can be placed in second place, followed by that terrible prison warden. I'd place General Fong in fourth place for worst person ever," I muttered. Then I thought of Turk and my father and thought in my head, "_Or sixth place."_

He looked at me with shock. "Warden? You never mentioned anything about a warden."

My hand went to my arm which held the burn the warden had inflicted. If you looked at my arm you could see scars decorated all over the skin. Kale noticed and frowned with deep pain. He felt terrible for everything that happened to me, and I didn't want him to feel bad for me. "It's okay, Kale. It's all in the past," I said, trying to reassure him. He looked ready to argue, but I quickly changed the subject. "You never told me… Why did my father send you to the fire nation town? Why not let you stay at the palace?"

Kale closed his eyes as memories came back to him. "Your father had known of our friendship. As years passed I think he could tell I was growing suspicious of him. I'd always known he had something to do with your disappearance, because he always changed the subject at meetings whenever your name came up. At times I'd be serving tea at the meetings, and I'd see something flash in your father's eyes whenever they spoke of your death. Almost pleasure it seemed. At some point he knew I was suspicious and sent me away so I wouldn't start doubt in the kingdom."

Nodding, I felt my heart ache. "He really hated me that much, huh? My father was happy with the thought of me being dead."

Kale suddenly scooted beside me and I felt him pull me in his arms. "I'm so sorry Amber… I can't imagine how much this news hurts you."

"I guess it should be expected, but I still wish it wasn't true. At least I have one father who loves me though," I whispered, thinking of Hakoda. He had treated me so much like his daughter, even when he knew my true identity.

"I'm glad the water tribe found you. If not you would've surely died," Kale said.

Silence passed between the two of us as we both went deep in thought. Later that night, after dinner, Katara forced me into a room with warm tubs of water. "The general said we are free to wash up. Sokka, Aang, and Kale are in another one so we have some privacy. There's a woman soldier positioned outside to keep everyone out."

Staring at the water, I almost laughed. "It's been ages since we've both had a good bath."

Katara immediately stripped to her bindings and stepped into the warm water. Following her I did the same, and we both stepped in. The water was really warm, and it was nice to get the dirt and grime off my skin. As I washed my hair out and ducked under, I came back up to see Katara staring at my arms. Immediately I self-consciously turned from her. It was probably the first time she'd seen just how bad all my scars were since after my last healing session at the North Pole. "There's a lot more than before," she said, and I could just picture her frowning.

"Yeah… A lots happened these last few weeks," I muttered, rubbing my hand over my many scars.

Katara sighed. "Yeah. A lot has."

Later that night after we'd dried off and put our water tribe clothing back on, we got back to the room to find the others were all on their cots chilling. Aang looked away when he and Katara met eyes, and I shot her a questioning look. She turned away and I assumed it had something to do with this whole avatar state thing. Not wanting to pry to make things worse, I just went straight to bed.

Luckily I had no nightmares or dreams that night, but I did wake up to something being placed over my mouth. Shooting my eyes open wide, I saw an earth nation soldier above me with a look of determination. As I started to struggle, I felt his other hand punch me hard in the side of my head causing me to black out.

When I came to I was tied up and my mouth was gagged. Groaning from the sharp pain in the side of my head, I saw the General Fong guy pacing back and forth with determined eyes. When he heard me awake he turned to shoot me a glance. "Well well… Our little Princess returns to present," the general said, walking over and grabbing my chin hard. Trying to yank from him, I growled through my gag at him wanting nothing more than to burn him.

Lighting a flame, I felt my ropes break but I quickly hid it from him. My back was against a wall, so I don't think the general noticed. "I was debating on whom I should take. The avatar seems to like the water tribe girl, but he also cares for you as well; the way he defended you from me when I tried to send you away. If I use you to bait the avatar then there's no doubt that he'll go into the avatar state."

Use me? My eyes widened at his words. He was going to threaten my own life so he could tick Aang off and get him to go into the avatar state.

"Now we just wait till the avatar wakes up, and we'll pull our plans into action," the general said, talking to three soldiers in the room. They saluted the general, then turned and left probably to go to their post. As the general's back was turned, I immediately removed my gag and lit a purple flame in my hand. My insides boiled with rage. This guy was completely off his rockers, and I was about to teach him a lesson.

Walking toward him, I hissed, "Your plans won't be going anywhere!" Running forward, I went to shoot fire at the general but he turned quickly and thrust his hand down. To my terror the earth below me shot up and I was incased in a rock made prison. Light seeped in from the top of my four wall cage, but it was narrow at the top and my body wouldn't be able to squeeze through.

"General Fong! Let me out right now!" I screamed, kicking my strong earth prison. Then I shot a flame only to cry out as the fire shot back at me and made me cough from the smoke.

"That's right girl! Better not fire bend in there! It will only make your situation worse!" This general was insane, and though he didn't match Zhao, my father, or that crazy warden, he was moving his way up my list. As of now he was the fourth person I truly despised.

Slamming my fist against the stone wall, I screamed, "Let me out! Let me out right now!"

General Fong shouted back, "Not until the avatar unlocks his power!"

Growling, I slammed my body into the rocky wall only to fall back and hit my head on the wall behind me. Falling dazedly to the ground, I shut my eyes trying not to let my claustrophobia get to me. This place was smaller than my past prisons, and it was harder to breath. Why does this crap always happen to me?

Sighing, I sat against my very small prison and tried to picture I was somewhere else. As I did I felt the bracelet warm up around my wrist.

"_You can escape", _Roku said in my head.

"Oh… You're talking to me again,"I muttered under my breath.

"_You have to understand Amber. There are some things you must learn on your own." _

"I thought you were supposed to be my guide," I hissed through my teeth.

"_I can only encourage you and tell you what I can. The spirits do not think you are ready for more."_

"Ready for what?" I cried, begging for answers.

"_Just break out Amber!" _Roku practically yelled, then the bracelet around my wrist cooled.

Growling with frustration, I slammed my fist on the wall again. Seething from fury at Roku's awful assistance, I tried to calm down. He's only trying to help. He's helped you through so much, Amber. Don't be mad.

Sighing, I closed my eyes and breathed in and out calmly. As I did so I felt warmth flow through my blood. Tightening my fists, I breathed in hard and then opened my eyes. Thrusting my glowing hands forward I shot fire at the giant wall with all the power I could muster. The purple fire caused the wall to blast apart easily and stone pieces to fly everywhere. Running out of my damaged prison, I found General Fong's soldiers had turned at the sound and looked at me with terror.

"She's glowing! It's almost like she's a spirit!" One soldier cried, dropping his weapon in fear.

Another soldier shouted, "Don't just stand there, stop her!" then stepped forward thrusting his hand upward to bend the earth. With a quick jerk of my body I dodged the oncoming stalagmite and then jumped in the air shooting a volley of fire at the soldiers. They jumped out of the way, but as they were on their knees distracted I took off toward the entrance to the giant war room I'd been trapped in.

Running outside, I saw with terror a battle had already begun.

"Where is she?!" Aang cried from below, shooting air at General Fong. Aang was surrounded by earth benders, as were Kale, my brother, and my sister. The earth benders each were on ostrich horses and had weird circular stone shapes in front of each of them. It was then I knew that they were the general's backup.

The General caught himself from the blast of air, then straightened up. "You'd want to know, wouldn't you? Maybe if you went into the avatar state I could tell you."

"This is bull crap! You can't just kidnap her! Give her back you monster!" Kale ordered, unsheathing his water tribe sword. Two soldiers beside General Fong took a step forward as if to warm him to back off.

Running down the steps that would take me to the court yard, I shouted when I reached the large area, "General Fong! You've officially made my top five of the men I hate more than anything." Lighting a flame, I saw the General's eyes stare in horror at my purple flame. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't burn you now?"

The General composed himself, then smirked, "As if I'd give you the chance!"

The ground beneath me suddenly sunk down and I screamed as I was pulled into the dirt of the earth. "Amber! Let her go!" Aang cried, and I could just make out from above the dirt Aang was grabbing on to the General's arm with terror.

"You could save her if you'd go into the avatar state!" the General shouted.

"I'm trying!" Aang cried, then looked over at me as I struggled to break out of my stone prison again.

"I don't see glowing!" Then the ground opened up and I fell deeper inside immediately being incased by earth.

My body was trapped in a small stone sort of tomb, with very little air. Trying to breathe, I realized there wasn't enough air to do so, so instead I shut my mouth and held my breath. Being under that pitch black earth it was completely quiet and cold. As my air began to leave me, that same fog from before clouded my mind. Now I'd die from suffocation. Maybe the fortune teller needed to get her facts straight.

The ground suddenly lifted then, and I gasped as my body was shot up from its earthy prison into the daylight air. Coughing for much needed oxygen, I heard a voice shout, "Look avatar! Your friend is safe! I've done no harm to her." It was as the general spoke these words that I felt the hard winds and heard the sound of stone breaking. Opening my eyes, I saw Aang was floating a good thirty feet above, and his eyes and tattoos were glowing.

"Amber! Come on!" A voice shouted in my ear suddenly, but my body and mind were still very fuzzy from my stone confinement.

"She's in shock! I'd be too if I was trapped inside the earth!" Kale shouted, then I felt someone try to pull me off the trembling stone ground. Opening my eyes wide, I saw it was Sokka, and he was trying to block my body from the vicious winds behind him.

"Come on Amber! We have to get out of here," Sokka said. Eventually we managed to get to a corner of the stairs that led up to the main meeting room. Half the time we ran over Sokka was holding me up. When we got to the corner, I heard Sokka over the roaring wind say something about going to help. Kale stayed with me and his brown eyes met my shaking gold.

He suddenly pulled me into his arms and I immediately relaxed my trembling body. "Are you okay?" he asked in my ear, loud enough for me to hear.

Nodding, I pressed my face into Kale's shirt just wanting to block out everything. Aang was in the avatar state because of me. If I wouldn't have let the General use me as bait everything would've been fine.

_No… He would've probably gone for Katara, _my mind shouted. My mind was right. If I wasn't the bait, Katara would've been. Guess it was better this way.

The wind began to die down suddenly, and I felt the ground below me no longer tremble. Pulling from Kale I looked over to see Aang had stopped glowing and my sister was hugging him to her. Sighing in relief, I stood and Kale followed. The court yard that had once been was completely destroyed. Earth was unevenly distributed and there were cracks and unconscious soldiers in the area. There were no serious injuries, but I could tell Aang had done his damage. Running over to Aang and my sister, I was surprised when I saw Sokka riding over on an ostrich horse. General Fong was standing over my sister and Aang grinning.

"That was almost perfect! We just have to find a way to control you when you're like that," General Fong beamed. Sokka scowled, came over, then wacked the guy on the head knocking him unconscious. The soldiers around us looked unsure of what to do.

"Anybody got a problem with that?" Sokka snapped.

The soldiers all shook their heads.

After we all helped Aang up and Aang hugged me glad I was okay, we decided to find Appa and get away from General Fong before he woke up. A soldier tried to offer an escort to Omashu but we turned him down. "We've had enough help from you today," I muttered bitterly, and I saw the soldier nod almost looking sorry.

We eventually got to Appa and all climbed on the saddle. As we got settled and Katara got Appa to fly in the sky, I looked out toward the clouds in deep thought. The whole being trapped inside the earth and suffocating had left my mind. I suppose I was used to being in life threatening situations by now. Maybe it also had to do with the fact that I knew the general wasn't going to kill me. Either way my whole kidnap and imprisonment wasn't the thing on my mind. It was Roku.

He made me so mad, not answering my questions. When I actually really needed him, he bailed on me because the "spirits" said I wasn't ready to know. Know what? He was infuriating me with his silent treatment, and even now he remained silent. _So much for being my guide!_

Annoyed, angry, and also hurt by Roku's actions, I yanked the gold bracelet off my wrist. At this action I noticed everyone's eyes shoot to me with question. Irritated with everything, I snapped, "I need a break from Roku, okay! How would you all feel if you had a guy in your head twenty four seven?!"

Grabbing the blue bag my brother got from the Northern Water Tribe, I shoved it in. "Amber…Are you sure your-"

Cutting Kale off, I snapped, "I'm fine! I just don't feel like Roku invading my personal space anymore!"

"Did he do something to upset you?" Aang asked. "He seemed fine when I spoke to him today."

"Oh! So he talks to you!" I spat, and then crossed my arms annoyed. "He probably answers all your questions!"

Katara and Sokka were surprised by my words, while Aang seemed unsure of how to answer. Kale seemed really worried. "What are you talking about?" Katara asked.

Scowling, I tightened my hands into fists. "Nothing. Forget about it." Then I turned and looked out toward the sky, not wanting to see the four sets of eyes staring bewildered at me.

Later that night we made camp by a pond and everyone went to sleep except for Kale and I. We both sat by the pond in silence and at the moment I was glad I had someone at my side. I'd already been abandoned by one spirit, so being abandoned by Kale wouldn't cheer me up one bit either.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" Kale asked, staring at the moons reflection in the water.

Shaking my head, I said, "It's nothing Kale. I'm sorry for my outburst earlier. It's just such a pain that the one time I need Roku the most he isn't there. It's not fair!" Pulling my knees to my chest I pressed my face into my blue water tribe trousers as tears started to fill my eyes.

His hand brushed through my hair in a comforting touch. "I'm sure there's an explanation to it all. You just have to be patient."

"Yeah… I guess you're right," I whispered, pulling my face back to stare at the water once more.

"I'm always right," he joked, nudging me in the shoulder making me smile slightly.

With a small sigh I looked up at the moon. To my shock I saw from the moon's light Yue was standing right in front of me; her spirit that is. Opening my mouth, I was about to scream but she quickly placed a finger over her pale glowing lips to stop me.

"Amber? Are you okay?" Kale asked, noticing how terrified I'd become and how my body began to tremble. He looked to where my eyes were staring at Yue but didn't see her.

Yue's spirit pointed toward the forest on the other side of the pond, then put her finger back to her lips. "_I need to talk to you… You must come alone and quickly. I don't have much time." _She then turned and hovered over the pond, the moons light seeming to follow her as she headed toward the forest.

My eyes watched her glowing spirit go with horror while at the same time awe. I was seeing spirits. I just saw Yue's spirit.

"Um… I got to go!" I said, jumping up suddenly.

Kale looked at me in surprise and grabbed my arm to stop me as I began to walk. "Go where?"

"Um… Bathroom!" I shouted, and then turned yanking my arm away and running from Kale.

"Amber!" he shouted after me, but I was already running around the pond, toward the dark slightly moonlit forest.

* * *

**A/N: So that's the first chapter of book two. Hope you enjoyed and I'll have the second up hopefully soon. Don't hate me for the cliff hanger but I had to leave you guys wanting more. ;)**


	2. Young Flame

**Here's chapter 2... Enjoy! Thanks for the reviews! =D**

My bare feet scratched against the roots, bristles, leaves, and thorns of the forest floor, but the pain didn't stop me. Yue would give me answers. That's why we were meeting alone. She wanted to help me.

How could I see her though? She's the spirit of the moon. The only way people can see spirits is if they are one or are in the spirit world. Right?

Following the moons lit path, I found myself in a sort of meadow, and in the center of the grassy and flower filled field was my friend Yue. She was almost floating as if the light of the moon were holding her up, and her white hair moved in a spirit like manner. "Yue! You have to help me! I'm so lost and confused! Why was I granted these powers? Why won't Roku tell me anything? How can I see you?"

She came toward me and I felt her cool spirit hand press against my lips silencing me. _"Calm down Amber… I know you're scared, but you need to relax and listen. The reason you have these abilities is because you were born with them."_

Looking at her, I immediately became annoyed and shoved her surprisingly solid but glowing hand away. "I know I was born with them. Roku already told me that. I want to know how!"

She smiled weakly. _"Let's just say you and I were born the same way Amber… We we're both dying."_

My eyes widened at her words. Sokka had told me the story of how when Yue was born she was weak and about dead. He told me how her father took her to the ocean and moon spirit, and the moon spirit gave some of his energy to her bringing her back to life. It was this that pretty much gave her the spirit of the moon, and it was this in which she became the actual moon.

"Wait… I was dying," I whispered, grabbing my hair at the thought. What did this mean? Did this mean I was given life from a spirit also? That would mean I too was a spirit, wouldn't it?

Yue smiled. _"Yes… You were very weak in your mother's womb. She knew this when your time to be born drew closer. Your mother loved you dearly and did not want to lose you."_

Her words pierced through me like knives. When I was born I was going to die? Is that what Roku didn't want to tell me?

"Then the spirits gave me life?" I asked, trying to understand what she was talking about.

"Amber!" A voice called, and I saw Yue look past me with shock when she heard Sokka shout my name.

Turning from me, I watched as a shining tear fell onto the grassy meadow making a white flower sprout out. _"I have to go. You have to discover the rest on your own." _Yue then started to ascend back up toward the moon.

Running forward, I shouted, "Yue! You have to tell me!"

She looked back down at me with a small smile. _"No… You must discover it yourself. I'm sorry."_ Then she disappeared, and the moons light dimmed as her spirit returned home.

"You can't just tell me this and leave!" I cried running at the moon as if to grab a hold of it and bring Yue back. My foot caught in the tangled grass and I fell hard on my knees. Catching myself, I felt my blood pumping hard as her words kept soaring through my mind. _"You were very weak in your mother's womb."_

"Amber!" A voice called again, but I was too busy trying to not freak out. My mom must've begged Roku to save me. He must've somehow convinced one of the spirits to grant me life. Maybe he himself granted me life?

A hand suddenly touched my shoulder and I gasped looking over to see Sokka kneeling beside me. "Amber… What are you doing out here? Kale said you just took off."

Yanking away from him, I muttered hiding my face, "I'm fine Sokka. Just needed some time alone."

"You're not fine! You're covered in dirt and crying!" When Sokka spoke this I touched my face feeling the moisture from my tears. "Come on," he whispered, pulling me up. "Let's get you back to camp."

Hanging my head, I felt suddenly so tired. Leaning against my brother, I said weakly, "Sorry for worrying you." Then I tried to take a step. As I did I lost my balance and fell once more toward the grass. As Sokka caught me, and exhaustion began to take me over, I saw through the cracks of my blurring vision Avatar Roku stand in front of me looking at me with deep sympathy.

"_You will know more soon… I promise," _he said, and his voice was the last thing I'd heard before darkness took me over and I let a dreamless sleep overcome me.

When I came to a few hours later I felt sore. My body hurt at every movement and I felt a sharp pain in my head. Opening my eyes, I winced from the sunlight above and I quickly shut them again. "Well look who finally woke up," Sokka said, and I opened my eyes to see him standing above me causing his head to block the sunlight. "Rise and shine."

Groaning, I closed my eyes again and tried to sit up. "What happened?" I asked, looking around to see I was back at the campsite and Kale, Katara, and Aang were watching from a few yards away.

"I was about to ask you that same question," Sokka said, crossing his arms and looking at me with hard eyes. "You know I had to drag you back to camp last night. If it wasn't for Kale carrying you some of the way I'd have left you in the forest."

At these words I remembered what had happened last night. I'd passed out and Sokka and Kale must've carried me back to camp. Embarrassed by this, I covered my face too ashamed to look into everyone's eyes.

"We need to talk about last night," Sokka said, and I looked back at him to see he was serious. He wasn't letting me leave until I explained why I ran off in the middle of the night into the forest. "What happened? You just took off. Kale woke me saying you looked like you'd seen a ghost, and then I find you in the middle of the forest crying your eyes out."

Sighing, I pulled my knees to my chest. "Sorry," I whispered. "I have a lot going on."

"And what is it that's going on? Is it Avatar Roku again?" Aang asked.

Gritting my teeth, I snapped, "It's every spirit out there! They tell me something and then expect me to figure things out on my own. Roku's not talking to me, and Yue leaves at the point where I need answers the most! It's just so-"

"Yue?" Sokka suddenly asked, and I looked over at him to see his eyes wide at what I'd said. "She spoke to you? How can you see her?"

My throat tightened when I saw the pain Sokka felt at the name Yue. He truly did love her.

"Wait. So last night when you took off, it was because you saw Yue and went to speak with her?" Kale asked, looking a bit puzzled that I'd seen a floating spirit and he hadn't.

Nodding, I held my head down feeling ashamed that I'd left so suddenly and worried Kale. "I don't know how I could see her, and I don't know why I have the ability to bend such unnatural flames. That's why I was hoping she'd give me answers… She didn't though."

They all looked sorry now when they saw how these words upset me. They knew how much I wanted answers.

"Just be patient. The spirits will tell you when they're ready," Aang promised.

Nodding, I knew he was right. I had to be patient.

Later that morning, after we'd packed up camp and prepared to leave to head to Omashu, I heard Aang say, "Hey, before we go can we practice a little water bending. I want to show Bumi what I learned!"

Katara seemed excited by the idea while Sokka wasn't too happy about it. "We don't have time. We need to get to the Omashu as soon as possible to start Aang's training. Sozin's comet is growing closer day by day."

As Sokka spoke this, I saw it only made Aang and Katara want to bend more. As they started to practice water bending by the pond, which made Sokka only sigh in defeat, I walked over to him and Kale who were discussing which way was best to head. Sokka was given a map of the Earth Kingdom from master Hakoda the day we left the Northern Water Tribe.

"There seems to be a pass through these mountains, but it's probably easier to just fly over them," Sokka pointed out, tracing his finger over a brown form I assumed was a rocky mountain.

Kale seemed to pale when he saw the mountain Sokka mentioned. "Yep. Definitely don't want to go through that mountain at least."

Plopping beside them, I asked why.

He smirked at me, and then said in a supposedly scary voice. "The tunnels are cursed. Those who enter are never seen again." His voice went back to normal. "At least that's what the rumors say."

"Learned all that from living at your fire nation colony?" Sokka asked.

Kale shrugged. "We got random travelers who stopped by for tea here and there. Some of them had pretty cool stories."

"Or they were nuts," Sokka snapped.

"We better go try and round up the other two so we can be on our way," I said standing from the ground. Sokka offered to do it though, saying he was the leader and could be more convincing. Kale and I rolled our eyes but let our leader round up the two kids water bending.

As Kale and I were left alone, I heard him ask, "So… Yue didn't tell you anything last night?"

His question took me off guard, and I looked at him a bit surprised. His eyes showed he knew I was hiding something, and I had a feeling I wouldn't be able to keep it very long. "Um… I guess I can tell you, but I don't want anyone else knowing yet so don't say anything. They'll only worry again and get worked up." Taking in a deep breath I continued. "She told me that before I was born I was dying in my mother's womb. That's all she told me though."

Kale was a bit taken back by this new information, and I could tell it surprised him as much as it surprised me. "Then what happened that brought you back to life? Do you think it has something to do with your abilities?"

Shrugging, I said, "Not sure. I'll figure it out soon though. The spirits can't keep this from me for very long."

At that moment I was determined to find out more about my birth. How if I was dying in my mother's womb, was I here now? Why was I granted this ability to bend with such unnatural abilities? One day I'd find out. I guess until then I had to be patient like Aang said. He was the avatar so I assumed it was best to listen to him.

"Don't fall in love with a traveling girl. She'll leave you broke and broken hearted..." A male voice suddenly sang out, and all of us turned from where we were to watch a group of strange people walk into the small clearing we were in.

The man I assumed was their leader carried a pear-shaped guitar like instrument as he finished his song. He wore very colorful clothing, a strange hat with red feathers, and a necklace of flowers. He was a very odd looking man. Beside him were two other people. One was a lady with a pink and brown outfit. She had a hat with a huge white lily on her head and shoulder length brown hair. She played the flute as she followed the guy with his guitar. The last guy was smallest of the two and chubby, with a pink outfit that made me want to gag and a weird mustache. He was playing a drum to contribute to this band of odd travelers.

"No way…" Kale suddenly muttered, and I looked over at him to see he recognized these people. "Chong, Lily, and Moku..." He paled then and suddenly darted behind me to hide himself from the new arrivals, but the guy I assumed was Chong looked over in the nick of time.

"Kale is that you? Kale, my man! What's brought you this lovely place?" Chong asked, walking over to Kale and I. Smirking, I stepped aside making Kale come into view. He looked at me with terror, but I shrugged giving him a playful grin.

Kale sighed, then straightened up and crossed his arms a bit annoyed. "Hey, Chong. It's been a long time. How's you're traveling been?"

"Great! We've been everywhere… Hey! Who's this pretty lady?" Chong asked, suddenly turning to me. "Kale finally get married?"

My eyes widened and Kale smacked his forehead with disbelief. With annoyance and a bit of embarrassment Kale said, "Chong… This is my-"

"I'm his girlfriend," I reassured, holding my hand out. "My name's Amber. How is it you know Kale?"

Chong took my hand and we pulled away. Everyone had joined us now, Sokka, Katara, and Aang staring at the travelers with amazement by their appearance. Chong spoke ignoring them. "We met Kale on one of our travels through a Fire Nation Colony. He's a good kid, great on the Sungi Horn, but we couldn't get him to join us in our travel. He said he was waiting to find someone." Chong then looked me up and down and I blushed. "Looks like our sunny boy found his flower."

Kale sighed in defeat. As Chong introduced himself, his wife Lily, and their friend Moku, I looked at Kale with amusement. "You seem so excited to see them again," I said soft enough for only him to here.

Kale scowled. "They're annoying thorns in my side. They came into the Tea Shop one evening and wouldn't shut up. Made my boss give me a Sungi Horn and force me to play mindless songs with them to entertain the guests. It was the worse eight hours of my life. When they were ready to leave they told me I should come with them but I turned them down. I can't believe I have to deal with these people again!"

"I'm sure they're not as bad as you say," I reassured.

In the end I found out I was wrong.

For two hours we sat by the pond and had to listen to Chong's pointless songs. Katara and Aang seemed to be having a good time, probably because Katara was being pampered and Aang was all about peace. That's all Chong's songs were about… peace.

Sokka, Kale, and I all sat a bit annoyed by these people. Now I understood why Kale wasn't too happy about their arrival. They were a pain to have to endure.

Aang suddenly approached us. "You guys should hear some of these stories. These guys have been everywhere!"

Chong stopped playing. "Well not everywhere little arrowhead. But where we haven't been we've heard of through stories and songs."

"Of course you have," Kale muttered under his breath.

"They said they'll take us to see a giant night crawler," Aang said excitedly.

Sighing, I stood deciding I had to stop this. "Look Aang… Maybe we can do that another time, but right now we need to get to Omashu so you can learn earth bending and defeat my father."

Sokka agreed, standing as well. "Amber's right. We need to get to Omashu! No side tracks, no worms, and definitely no rainbows."

Chong broke in. "Whoa... sounds like someone's got a case of "destination fever," heh. You're worried too much about where you're going."

Lily smiled. "You've gotta focus less on the "where" and more on the "going.""

Sokka said with emphasis, "O. Ma. Shu!"

Katara got up then, her hair in a pretty flower braid. "Sokka's right. We need to find King Bumi so Aang can learn earth bending somewhere safe."

"Sounds like you're headed to Omashu," Chong said. Kale, Sokka, and I slapped our foreheads in disbelief. "There's an old story about a secret pass...right through the mountains."

That's when it hit me. Looking at Kale, I whispered, "They're the ones that told you about the cursed tunnel?" Kale sighed nodding.

Katara asked then if it was a real legend and Chong began to sing once more. "Two lovers, forbidden from one another, a war divides their people… and a mountain divides them apart. Built a path to be together..!" He stops then in thought. "Yeah, and I forgot the next couple of lines, but then it goes…" He starts to sing again. "Secret tunnel! Secret tunnel! Through the mountain! Secret, secret, secret, secret tunnel! Yeah!"

Kale groaned while Sokka and I shook our heads in disbelief. Aang and Katara clapped though in amusement. "I think we'll just stick to flying. We've dealt with the fire nation before. We'll be fine," Sokka urged.

Aang knew Sokka was right and so did Katara.

In the end we left the travelers and flew into the sky toward the mountain. We didn't realize the fire nation was camped so near though. They spotted us and began to fire flaming catapults at us which we dodged and screamed. In the end we had to land once more and walk. Appa was a bit shaken by the fire that hit his fur and we all patted him letting him know it was okay.

We ended up finding Chong, Lily, and Moku again, so we told them we'd follow them through the secret tunnel. They seemed ecstatic and Chong took the lead. We followed a path that we hoped led to the tunnels. As we went I stared off a bit into space.

For the first time in a few days I wondered if Zuko was alright. We hadn't heard about him since the battle at the water tribe. Did he make it across the ocean safely? Was he able to find some soldiers who were willing to help him search for the avatar? Was he okay? And what about Uncle… the last time I saw him was in the sanctuary where the ocean and moon spirit lived. Was he with Zuko?

A hand suddenly enveloped my own, and I looked at Kale with question. He looked worried… again. "What's wrong? You've been quiet for a few minutes. Is it still Yue?"

Shaking my head, I looked up at the clouds above wondering why I was so worried about Zuko. Though it was probably because he was my brother and I loved him. There was just something in the pit of my stomach that made me worry for him. I'd thought he'd have caught our trail by now, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Just thinking about my brother and uncle... I hope they're okay."

Sokka heard and looked back. "Knowing Zuko he's probably searching for us as you speak. He's tough Amber. They're both fine I'm sure."

Nodding, I smiled feeling a little better by Sokka's words, but at the same time there was still an unsettling feeling in my gut.

Eventually we arrived at a wide tunnel that was carved into the side of a massive mountain. We approached it anxiously and looked uncertain. "You sure this is safe? There could be a cave in or something," I said. "Maybe we should just try and fly."

"It will be fine," Aang assured.

"What exactly is this curse?" Sokka suddenly asked, nervous about what lay ahead.

Chong answered, "The curse says that only those who trust in love can make it through the caves. Otherwise you'll be trapped in them forever."

Lily added, "And die."

This seemed to strike a thought in Chong. "Oh, yeah, and die. Hey, I just remembered the rest of that song." He strummed a few keys on his guitar. "And die…"

Shaking my head in disbelief, I said, "There's no way I'm going through some cursed tunnel!"

Sokka and Kale nodded in agreement.

"Hey, someone's making a big campfire," Moku suddenly said in a dreamy voice.

My eyes shot over to what he was talking about. Down the path we'd just come, fire was raging. The Fire Nation Soldiers were coming, and they were catching everything on fire as they did. "Run!" I cried. "It's the Fire Nation!"

"Everyone in the tunnel!" Sokka ordered, and we all ran inside. Some of us had to end up pulling Appa in though. The poor guy wasn't a fan of tight enclosed places since he and Aang had been frozen in an iceburg. After being trapped in General Fong's tight earth prison I wasn't really scared anymore.

We walked through the tunnel then, and I lit a flame so we'd have light. Moku, Chong, and Lily stared at my purple fire with amazement. "Dude… That's some pretty fire," Lily said in awe.

Blushing, I looked away as we continued to walk.

Aang spoke then. "So all you need is to trust in love to get through these caves?"

Chong grinned back at him. "That is correct, master arrowhead."

When he spoke this, I saw Aang shoot a glance at Katara. Young love.

Suddenly a crash was heard at the entrance of the cave, and we gasped turning to see fire nation soldiers had arrived and were shooting catapults at the caves entrance causing the entrance to come down and trap us inside. Luckily my flame kept our now stone prison illuminated when darkness completely surrounded us.

"Hey! We got fire too," Moku suddenly said, pulling out five torches from his pack.

Sokka stopped him from lighting one of them. "We'll save those for later when Amber gets tired of bending. Right now we need to find a way out of this cave." When he spoke this we heard Appa groaning and saw he was trying to dig his way out of the rocky wall that had formed in the entrance to the tunnel. Momo hopped on my shoulder shaking and holding on to my head.

"Aang! Momo and Appa are freaking out. Do something!" In the end Appa was reassured by Aang and Momo was holding onto my back. Free piggy back rides was not my thing, but the poor guy was terrified so I had no choice.

We ended up walking through the tunnels for about an hour and by that point my wrist was killing me because I was getting tired from holding a flame for so long. It was probably the longest someone had ever held one single flame before.

"Sokka… I need a break," I said, trying not to sound like I was complaining. My breathing was getting hard though and my whole arm ached from being held up in the same position for so long.

Sokka looked back and noticed my discomfort, as well as how the flame in my hand became smaller and smaller. He immediately lit one torch and handed the other four to different people in the group. When his own fire filled the cave I sighed and extinguished my flame relaxing my arm. Momo left my back to go sit on Sokka's shoulder probably to be near the fires warmth.

Eventually, after walking a little more, I noticed something. We'd been in this tunnel before. I don't know how I knew it but I could feel it. "Sokka… This is going to sound insane, but I think the tunnels are just leading us back to where we've already been.

Katara jumped in now. "Yeah, I feel like we're just walking in circles."

Sokka sighed. "These tunnels seem endless. Maybe if we make a map or somethi-"

There was suddenly a loud screech in the cave and we turned in terror to see bead eyes shining in the dark. We all backed from the creature not sure what it could be. "Um… Maybe it's friendly," Moku said.

Sokka held his fire a little closer and when he did the creature jumped forward. It was a wolfbat. I'd read about them in a book Hakoda had bought for me from a sea trader. The book said they were definitely not friendly. It stalked forward, its body the size of a wolf and its face almost canine. It had massive wings with sharp claws. "Run!" I cried. "It's a wolfbat!"

We turned to run but there were two other paths. We weren't sure which one to take. The wolfbat struck before we could decide, and as it flew above our heads Sokka tried to hit it with his flaming torch. I noticed Kale had gone to reach for his sword, but Appa stopped him. The giant bison's tale suddenly smacked into Kale knocking him a good ten feet. Running over to where he landed with a thud, I tried to help him up but noticed he was holding his arm in pain.

Looking back, Appa suddenly crashed into the side of the cave with a groan, and Aang and Katara ran over to him to try and calm him down. That's when the rocks above fell, and I pressed my body over Kale's as rocks crashed to the floor around us. As rocks fell I felt warmth flow through my body and I shot my hand up enveloping us in a strange purple dome of fire. As rocks fell above us, they crashed into the dome and melted into mud. When the last rock fell and melted, I dropped my hand gasping for breath. That's when darkness enveloped the cave. After taking a moment to rest, I managed to light another flame in my hand.

Collecting myself, I looked back down at Kale. His eyes were wide at what he'd just seen. "Never seen that fire bending move before," he said, and though he was surprised he managed to give me a reassuring smile.

Helping him sit up, I noticed he was clutching his arm in discomfort. "Are you okay?" I asked, worried he'd been severely injured by Appa's hit.

Kale winced when I took his arm in my one hand. From what I could see in the fire light, it was swollen and beginning to bruise. "It's probably broke, but it's fine," he promised.

Looking around, I saw the cave in had separated us from the others. If Katara were here she could've healed it quickly. Rushing over to the new formed rock wall, I shouted, "Sokka! Katara! Aang!"

"Amber!" Sokka shouted from the other side of the wall. "Are you alright?"

There must've been an opening somewhere for him to speak to us. "Yes! Kale's injured though! His arms busted!"

Kale muttered, "That's a bit over dramatic. It's just a break."

"Do you have a tunnel to follow?" Sokka yelled. Looking over, I noticed a small opening that both Kale and I could walk through.

"Yeah," I shouted.

"Follow it. We'll see you soon!" Sokka shouted. Then his voice left me and I sighed turning back to Kale. As I did I noticed to my relief a torch beside him. Rushing over, I lit the torch so instead of purple fire illuminating the cave it was red. Then I tore my knife from the sheath at my waist and took my sheath off. Kale watched with question.

Without letting him ask, I tore my shirt off so that I was wearing my wrapping underneath. Everything except my shoulders and my waist were still covered. Then I began to cut my shirt with my water tribe knife.

"Amber! What are you-"

"I'm making you a cast… It will have to do till we get to Katara. I have another shirt in Appa's saddle so I'll be fine," I assured. Then I gently took his hand and used the long strands of shirt to wrap around his arm firmly. He winced when I wrapped it around the spot where the main injury was, and I said a soft sorry. When I was sure it was wrapped well, I took the sheath that had a belt, and I used it as a splint for his arm. Draping the leather belt over his neck, I helped him put his arm in it. He rested his arm on the makeshift splint with a sigh.

Suddenly he kissed me on the lips, pulling me to him with his good hand, and I kissed him back with a sigh. When we pulled away, he was smirking. "You make a good nurse, Princess."

Laughing, I said, "Maybe I can do it for a living."

Helping Kale up, I saw he reached for my knife and put it in his boot. "Better not lose it. We might need it in the future," he said. Nodding, I picked up the torch on the ground and we began to walk through the one tunnel we had.

Kale held my right hand tightly as we walked through the dark endless tunnel of this infinite mountain. A few times I could've sworn I heard the earth beside us shake and I got a bit closer to Kale not wanting to be in another cave in. He wrapped his good arm around my waist and I immediately felt safe. After an hour of walking, our torch began to die and I had to light a flame once more. Kale took my hand as I used my other one to bend. As my purple light illuminated in the cave I almost screamed.

A woman stood in front of me, her hair long and black, her skin pale and illuminating in my unnatural flame, and her eyes were a deep blue. She wore a beautiful white kimono with elaborate flowers laced in the material. She smiled kindly at me. "What brings you down here young flame?"

Her words took me off guard and I took a step back in surprise. Kale noticed and asked, "What is it? Do you see Roku or Yue again?"

Looking at the woman, I saw her stare at Kale's hand in my own. "Young love… Just like Shu and I," she said, her voice echoing across the tunnel.

"Who are you?" I asked, taking my hand out of Kale's and stepping a bit in front of him.

The woman smiled, "My name is Oma."

"And my name is Shu," another voice said, and I screamed turning to see a man standing behind me right beside Kale. He was glowing just like Oma and had black hair in a topknot. He wore warrior clothing that I'd never seen before in my life. His brown eyes stared down at me with curiosity. "You're her… The one the others told us about."

"Others?" I asked.

Kale sighed. "I'm just going to stand by the wall and pretend I see who you're talking to. I guess you'll tell me what's going on when you're done." He leaned on the rocky side of the tunnel holding his arm to him.

Shooting him a sorry, I turned back to Oma to find Shu was standing beside her. "Who are you guys?"

Oma giggled. "Oh yes… I guess you haven't heard our story. We once lived in separate villages, each despising the other. We met one another on top of the mountain that separated our villages and immediately fell in love. Our love was forbidden, but we rebelled against our families. Secretly we met on this mountain, and it was then we ran into the badgermoles that dwelled here. We learned earthbending from them and it was this that helped us create the tunnels you see here. As villagers found these tunnels we changed them constantly to confuse them. We were able to be together, which was all we cared about. When Shu went to war for his village, our meetings were put on hold. He died at war, and instead of unleashing rage I used my bending to create a new city where my people and his could live together in harmony."

It hit me then when she spoke this. "You created Omashu! That's amazing!"

Shu smiled. "Well she is an amazing woman. That's why I fell in love with her."

Oma pressed to his side with love and devotion. "And you're my one and only love."

My eyes shot to Kale and I saw him look at me with question. He was terribly confused by what was happening. He could not see the spirits before me, but he probably had an idea I was speaking to someone. Still, I felt kind of bad for leaving him out of the loop.

"Kale, I'd like you to meet Oma and Shu, though I guess you can't really see them," I said, smiling weakly. He nodded but said nothing, searching the tunnel for anything that could be a spirit to his eyes.

"Such a shame to not be seen by the mortal eyes," Shu said.

At these words, I turned to him now wondering if I could get answers from them instead. "Wait… If you can't be seen by mortals, then what does that make me?"

Oma looked a bit taken back. "They haven't told you?"

My heart began to pound. Maybe I'd finally get some answers. Shu broke in though, "Oma, it isn't our place to speak. You know if they want her to know they'll tell."

"Know what?!" I cried.

Oma smiled weakly. "Forgive us, Princess Amber. We can't tell you. It is not our decision if you know or not."

Sighing in defeat, I decided to not even try.

"I feel terrible this upsets you," Oma cried, stepping forward and grabbing my hand without the flame in her own warm ones. "Is there any way I can make it up to you?"

These words made me smile a bit. "Actually, I think you can. My friends and I are kind of wandering endlessly through these tunnels. Do you think you can help us?"

Shu laughed. "Of course we can. I'll go get the badgermoles to help the water tribe boy and that strange group of people, while Oma can light a path for the avatar and water tribe girl. Wait here for us and we'll be back to lead you two." Then they both turned and walked off down the tunnel disappearing into the darkness.

When they were gone I turned back to Kale. "So… Guess you want to know what's going on?"

He rubbed a hand through his hair and sighed. "Yeah… That would be nice."

After catching him up by explaining to him I was seeing dead people and these dead people would help us, we waited in silence for the two spirits to return. After a moment, Kale said softly though his voice echoed, "So you're a spirit then?"

Taking in a deep breath I looked at my purple flame with pain. "I don't know… I wouldn't be surprised if I was though. Being able to see spirits… Having these strange abilities… There has to be some unnatural reason. Yue said her and I were born the same way. That we were both dying. If a spirit gave her life then maybe a spirit gave me life too."

"You've got it!" Oma suddenly cried, appearing in front of me with a grin. I jumped slightly which alerted Kale that the spirits were back. "See! You didn't even need us to tell you!"

"Tell me what?" I asked. "That a spirit gave me life?"

She smiled with knowing but said no more. I guessed that was the end of that conversation.

Shu came back a moment later, appearing out of the rocks beside Kale. "Alright... Your friends are being led out as we speak. We should get moving."

Nodding, I told Kale what Shu had spoken and he nodded. As we followed the floating spirits through the tunnels, I noticed Kale seemed a bit uncomfortable. He was clutching his arm and wincing at the discomfort inside it. "We're almost to Katara," I reassured.

"Don't worry about me… You've been through far more than I'll ever go through," he said, bringing back memories of Zhao's abuse.

He was right, but at the same time I didn't want him to be in pan.

Oma suddenly walked beside me as Shu continued to float ahead. Her eyes shined in my fire light. "You and Kale have something special young flame. Don't ever lose it," she said. Smiling, I grabbed on to Kale's hand again. He looked over and smiled too.

As we walked a bit more, I finally saw something in the distance. It was white light that seemed to radiate around the tunnel corner. Oma and Shu stopped and turned to me with kindness. "This is where we must leave you princess," Shu said, bowing slightly. "It was an honor to meet you young flame."

Oma rushed forward and hugged me, her arms warm around my body. "You'll get answers soon. I promise," she whispered in my ear. Then she and her love left us alone in the tunnel.

Kale sighed seeing I was staring at the wall where Oma and Shu passed through. "So… Should I tell the others you see dead people, or is this our big secret?"

"I don't want them to worry," I whispered. "It's best if they don't know."

He nodded then took my hand again and began to pull me along toward the light of the tunnel. When we got out we winced as we left our dark enclosure and returned to the light of the world. As soon as we were free from the dark tunnel, I extinguished my flame. Then my eyes adjusted and I looked around.

Kale and I were on a huge flat surface carved into the side of the mountain. We were alone, and I began to worry that maybe Oma and Shu hadn't helped them out of the mountain. "Amber! Kale!" A voice cried from above. Looking up we saw Appa flying toward us with Katara, Sokka, and Aang on his saddle. Kale sighed with relief, and I felt tears form in my eyes when I saw they were all safe.

When they got closer, I saw they immediately noticed my clothing issue and Kale's wrapped arm. Appa swung his tail toward us and made a ramp so we could easily walk up his body to the saddle. When we got into the saddle I slumped onto it with exhaustion.

"You guys okay?" I heard Sokka ask.

Kale answered for him. "Yeah. I think I broke my arm but Amber's a good nurse. She patched me up and was able to get us out of the tunnel." He left out the part about the spirits which I was greatly relieved. "She's probably exhausted from bending for so long," Kale said, but his voice was fading more and more as I drifted into sleep.

When I woke up a few hours later I saw we were still flying across the canyon of the earth kingdom. Sitting up, I felt a sleeping bag slide off of me. As soon as I sat up I felt a shirt get thrown in my face. After I put the water tribe shirt on, I saw Kale was lying back on the saddle asleep. Both of his arms lied behind his head, neither appearing swollen or bruised.

"He's fine... Just exhausted like you . You guy's were in there longer than us," Katara said, plopping down beside me as I was staring at Kale.

"Thanks for fixing his arm," I said, relieved to see he was in no more pain.

She shrugged. "He's my friend. I'd have done the same for anyone else."

Nodding, I looked on Appa's head to see Aang sitting there quietly. Sokka was slouched against the side of the saddle looking through a map with Momo curled up beside him. "So looks like we should land in a little bit to drop Appa off. There's a small forest area where he can be shaded and cool off while we go talk to King Bumi."

"Haven't seen that man since he tried to kill both Aang and I," I muttered.

"He wasn't going to kill us," Aang joked. "Just wanted to test us."

Scowling, I said, "Well this time I'm going to pound his face in if he messes with any of us again."

We eventually landed which woke up Kale. He smiled when he saw my eyes meet his and I rushed forward giving him a hug. He sighed and hugged me back. "You know, next time we decide to go through a mountain, let's go through one without earth bending moles," he said.

Laughing, I said, "You didn't enjoy walking aimlessly through a never ending tunnel?"

Sokka muttered, "I didn't."

Katara snapped, "No one asked you!"

"Hey guys, come on! Omashu awaits!" Aang cried excitedly.

We all climbed off Appa and began to head toward the path we'd once walked before. Secretly I wasn't too happy about seeing King Bumi, because he was the reason all these unnatural things started happening to me. He just had to test me with Aang. Then it hit me as I remembered something he's said a few months ago. _If you're who I think you are then you'll be able to pass my tests._

Did King Bumi know from the start I wasn't fully human? Was he aware I'd possess these powers after all?

"I've never met King Bumi," Kale suddenly said. "From what I hear though he's a nut job."

Sokka and Katara shot one another a look. "If you call a man who traps his captives in a crystal that you can eat nuts… Then yeah, he's as crazy as it gets."

Aang looked back with a grin. "Don't listen to Sokka, Kale. King Bumi's the smartest and nicest guy you'll ever meet. We were best friends a hundred years ago!"

This took Kale off guard. He stopped as everyone kept walking up the hill. "Please tell me that was a joke?"

"I wish," I muttered. "But it's true."

Kale shook his head in disbelief. "How is he alive?"

"Probably because the dead doesn't even want to deal with his insanity," I muttered. As we continued walking though, I gasped, suddenly feeling something very wrong. Looking at the top of the hill, I saw dark smoke that appeared to be filling the sky. From what I recalled, Omashu hadn't burned so much coal last time we were here.

_Amber… It's not safe here. Turn back…_

Roku? Was Roku talking to me? I'd taken the bracelet off so how could he…?

It hit me then… Roku was a spirit too, so of course I'd be able to hear and see him. At his warning I ran past everyone earning shouts from Kale, Aang, and my family. Racing as fast as I could to the top of the hill, I froze at what I saw.

My father had crossed the line… He was truly a monster.

"Amber! What's wrong?" Katara cried, racing up behind me; when she got close enough though she gasped in terror. Soon we were all gazing at the once sacred city Oma had worked so hard to create.

Tears pulled to my eyes when I saw the red fire nation banners that surrounded the once beautiful place. Steel structures were placed all over the earthy city, and I could see in the distance they were putting a statue of the Fire Lord in its center.

"Father… What have you done?" I whispered.

It was true. I was the daughter of a monster. A very greedy, hungry for power, monster. If the Fire Lord took this city, then there's no telling what others he had conquered as well.

This had to stop, and I'd make sure my father got everything he deserved.


	3. Reunions

******A/N: Sorry for how long it took to get this chapter done. I've been traveling most of the week and haven't been able to write much. Here's a pretty long chapter though so I hope you enjoy. Thanks for the reviews and favorites. You guys are the reason I keep writing.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing except Amber and Kale. =) ******

"He's really messed with the wrong person," Aang growled as we walked along the wall of the city. It was dark and a bit hard to see as we followed a small moat that circled around the massive earth structure. Aang had been outraged for the last ten hours, hissing how he'd give my father everything he deserved. "He thinks he can hurt my friend Bumi without facing the consequences then he's wrong!"

After we'd reached the top of the cliff a few hours ago and saw the smoking city that use to be Omashu, Aang had been on a rage. It was probably the most frustrated I'd ever seen him before, and I was afraid he'd go into the avatar state soon and give away our position.

Sighing, I looked over at Appa who was calmly floating in the moat beside us. Momo sat on Aang's shoulder and jumped off when Aang growled again. "Aang… I'm sorry about all of this. I'm sure Bumi's okay though. The guy may be nuts but he has some brains."

"You'd say that wouldn't you!" Aang snapped looking at me with accusing eyes, and I winced at the anger in his voice. "Being Princess of the Fire Nation you probably don't care!"

My heart ached when he said this. "Aang!" Katara snapped, grabbing him by the arm hard. "Don't talk to her like that! This isn't her fault!"

Kale snapped, "Yeah! Amber's been as affected by her father as all of us. She probably hates him more than any of us do! This is in no way her fault!"

Sokka sighed. "Look guys. We're just tired, hungry, and frustrated okay. We need to calm down before something's said we're going to regret."

Silence fell between us, and I backed away a bit from Aang. If he was this furious at my father I feared he'd take it out on me. Kale noticed my discomfort and gave my hand a squeeze letting me know it was alright. I smiled at him glad he was here to comfort me.

Eventually after we walked a bit more we found what we were looking for. There, carved into the side of the city, was a drain that led to the sewers inside. "This is going to be disgusting," I whined as Sokka opened the circular drain and pointed us forward. When he opened it green gunk fell out on the ground beside us and I gagged. Immediately I looked away not daring to find out what it was.

Aang was the first to enter, eager to find his friend, and the others followed suit. Following Kale through, I felt my shoes hit ankle deep water and I prayed that's all it was. After seeing what came out of the drain though, I already knew it wasn't just water.

Lighting a flame, I illuminated the sewers around us but didn't dare look down. Walking along, we went through the dark quiet pipe till finally we stopped at a place where the moon's light was seeping through. Stopping the flame on my hand, I was relieved to see there was a way out of this smelly drain.

Kale and Aang helped give Sokka a boost so he could shove the small drain above open and climb out. Turning, he held his hand down toward us saying, "Someone grab on." Katara took Sokka's hand first, and when she was up he was back to take mine.

As I was pulled above, I managed to get a hold on the road and get out of the drain. After taking a moment to collect myself, I finally stood and looked around to see what I'd been dreading for a while. The buildings around us had fire nation emblems all over them showing they were now fire nation property. My insides boiled with rage. This was wrong… Good people use to live in this city. Good earth kingdom people who had homes, families, and a life. I can't believe my father would do this to them.

"Ah!" My brother shrieked suddenly and we all jumped and turned to see him holding his arm up with terror. On his arm was a strange purple creature with tentacles that attached to his elbow. "Get it off! Get it off!" he cried.

We all winced at his shouting, and I rushed forward grabbing his arm to stop him from thrashing. "Hush Sokka," I whispered, not wanting to draw attention to us though we probably already had. "It's just a purple pentapus. They're completely harmless." Stroking the top of the smooth fishy head, the five tentacle creature released from Sokka's skin and fell in my hand.

When I looked up I saw everyone's eyes looking at me with surprise. Aang asked, no longer mad at me but curious, "How do you know that Amber?"

Shrugging, I helped him get another one off his neck. Each one left red dots on the spots they'd attached to. "I read about it in the book my da- I mean Hakoda gave me." Holding the two creatures in my hands, I frowned. I guess I couldn't really call chief Hakoda my father anymore when the Fire Lord was really him.

"He's still your dad," Katara said reassuringly. "If not by birth, then at least in your heart."

Smiling weakly, I nodded knowing she was right. Carefully, I let the creatures fall from my hand back into the sewers below. When they were gone, I shut the drain so evidence of our arrival was not there. As I came back to a stand, I saw Kale was trying hard not to laugh at my brothers new marks, and Sokka scowled at him rubbing the spots where the cute creatures had been.

"Hey!" A male voice suddenly shouted, we all turned in terror to see three fire nation guards coming down the street toward us. Everyone got behind Kale and I since we both were more fire nation than them. Katara shoved the small straw hat we'd brought (as a precaution) into Aang's hand. We were glad we'd brought it because if they recognized Aang we'd have been sitting turtle ducks.

The guards came to a stop in front of us with very strict looks in their eyes. They weren't wearing the fire nation helmets that covered their whole face so I could see their eyes, nose, and mouth. "What are you kids doing out past curfew?"

Kale took charge then. "Sorry. We were just on our way home," Kale tried to reassure. We all turned then and started to walk away from the three guards but the one who originally spoke to us stopped us.

"Hey! What's wrong with him?"

We all looked at the soldier confused, then saw him pointing at Sokka. It was then I realized they saw the red dots on Sokka's skin. Rushing to my brothers side I answered, "Oh… He has pentapox sir." The soldier went to touch him but Aang who now wore his hat quickly added, "It's highly contagious!"

Sokka began to moan and groan then, putting his hands in front of him as if he was a dead man walking. "Uuuuu… It's awful… I'm dying," Sokka moaned, and I resisted the urge to slap my forehead in disbelief. The guards were never going to buy this.

The same guard though backed away with terror. "Wait! I think I've heard of pentapox…" He looked over at his comrade. "Didn't your cousin Chang die of it?" Sokka takes a few steps closer coughing in what I admit was a pretty convincing manner. "Uh… we better go wash our hands… and burn our clothes." The guards then turned and ran, and we all sighed with relief.

Kale stepped forward pulling me into a hug and twirling me. When he set me down I was a bit dizzy. "You're brilliant!"

Katara shook my shoulder with a smile. "That was really great thinking! Nice job Amber!"

Sokka sighed. "Alright… Now that that's all over we better get moving. We need to find Bumi before it's too late. Sozin's comet is growing closer every second and we need to get Aang an earth bending teacher."

We all knew Sokka was right, so we all set out through the city sticking to the shadows of the buildings in the smallest streets we could. Looking up I saw the palace King Bumi once resided in had been completely converted into a fine Fire Nation home with red tapestry and the fire nation symbol on every corner. "Whoever took this place over likes to express their culture," I muttered.

Kale sighed. "He must be a much respected man to receive such an honorable position. I'm assuming he was appointed Governor over this place by the looks of it."

"Whoever _he_ is," I said, then turned back forward as we continued to follow the others along the surprisingly rocky walls.

Eventually we managed to slide behind some steel construction material as some more fire nation patrol passed by. "There weren't this many patrol at the village I lived in," Kale muttered.

"You weren't holding a king ransom." Kale inched away a bit from Aang's tense and aggravated form after the young avatar spoke this.

Eventually we began to scale against the giant wall of what use to Oma's magnificent Earth Kingdom city. As we did so I noticed something was off. It was really quiet and we hadn't seen much patrol since when we'd hidden behind the construction material.

Just as we were about to continue along the wall we all froze. There coming out of what appeared to be a secret path through a wall was a party of people, some with torches. From what I could see in the distance, I predicted there were about ten guards with two women. They must have been a part of the Governors family. "Hey… They look somewhat familiar," Kale suddenly said, leaning forward a bit to try and get a closer look. My eyes looked at him with question, but then I felt the rock under my feet begin to shake.

Aang must've felt what I'd felt, because we both looked up to see about three giant boulders rolling down the earthy wall toward the party of royal people. When this happened Aang gripped his staff, jumped right in the line of the rocks, and shot air straight at the boulders turning them into nothing but mere pebbles. Immediately I wondered if Aang had done the right thing saving the people below.

"It's the resistance!" A woman screamed. Guess he should've just let the boulders squish them.

A figure below suddenly rushed forward and shot from his or her hand a hail of black arrows toward all of us. We all shrieked and dodged the sharp weapons, and I saw Kale begin to reach for his sword as the figure went to shoot more. Katara rushed forward however and created a wall of ice that quickly blocked the strange sharp tipped arrows from hitting us. They fell with a clankto the ground. "I guess they're not very friendly when meeting new people," I joked.

Sokka muttered, "They're fire nation. They don't care about anyone but themselves." Kale and I looked at one another not sure if we should take offense to that.

The person- who I now could see was a tall lean girl with long black hair tied in two small buns with strands hanging loosely from them- rushed forward then and I saw Katara's wall of ice melt as Katara backed away in fear. This chick wasn't going to hurt my family.

Turning to Kale, I said, "Get them out of here." He looked at me confused, but before he could comprehend my meaning I ran toward the edge of the walkway we were on.

"Amber!" Kale shouted, but it was too late.

With determination I slid down the rocky wall landing a bit shakily on my feet when I hit the ground below, and then I pulled out the knife I'd gotten back from Kale. Turning to Sokka, Katara, Aang, and Kale who watched me with terror, I shouted, "Run!" A trap door opened right under their feet though and they screamed as they fell through disappearing into the earthy wall. That wasn't exactly what I had in mind…

Turning back, I shrieked as suddenly she was only a foot away and trying to hit me with one of her black daggers. My own knife flew up and I blocked her attack which created sparks. She hit me with her other knife and I hissed in pain when it sliced the side of my arm. Trying to kick her off, I hit her in the stomach and she fell back. Then while she was on the ground I tried to turn and run. By that point guards had positioned themselves behind me blocking my escape. I was stuck.

Turning back to the girl, I gripped my knife tighter hoping I didn't have to use my fire bending. If they saw my bending they'd know immediately who I was.

The girl was on her feet again and looking annoyed. She took a step forward twirling her knives in her hands. Fearfully I gripped my knife, not sure just how much this chick wanted me dead. The only person who had really wanted me dead so far was Jet. The others just liked to torture me. Looking at her face, I saw fire in her eyes as she prepared to strike. Yep, she wanted me dead.

Seeing her face up close, I looked into her familiar light brown eyes and my eyes widened as a flashback came back to me.

_Rushing into the palace garden, my five year old self laughed as another girl my age ran behind me. Looking back, I saw Mai laughing too as she rushed after me. Her short black hair barely went past the nape of her neck and she had two buns on her head with red ribbons to hold them up. "I'm gonna get you Amber!" She cried, laughing some more as she suddenly caught up to me and tackled me onto the soft warm grass._

_We landed with a thud, and I struggled from under her hold. "Mai! Get off," I shrieked, giggling as she rolled off and we both lied on the grass staring at the sky. We took a moment to catch our breaths, then Mai finally sat up and I followed her. "Do you think Azula and Ty Lee are looking for us?" I asked._

_"Let them," Mai said, sighing as she closed her eyes. It's nice to just hang out with you for a while. "Azula's too demanding for my taste."_

_Smiling, I rolled over onto my stomach and pulled at some grass. "Am I demanding?"_

_Mai rolled over to and I saw her smile at me. "Nope… You're just crazy!" We both laughed loudly._

Gasping, I felt the grip on my knife loosen as I stared at my once best friend. "Mai…" I whispered. Her eyes widened when she heard me say her name, and I saw she wasn't sure how to react. She searched my eyes for something and I could see now a flash of recognition shot through her.

"It can't be…" she whispered. "She's dead…"

Guards grabbed my arms suddenly and I gasped as I was forced to drop my weapon onto the ground. Then they shoved me to my knees so I was bowing slightly to Mai. Trying to struggle, I hissed as one of the guards grabbed my cut and dug into it making pain shoot through my arm. My struggling seized and the guard let go.

An older woman, probably in her late thirties marched over with fury. In her arms was a young boy, no older than a year. "You! You will pay for your resistance! Guards, take her to the prison. I want her locked away forever so she-"

"No!" Mai suddenly spat, and I saw her look at the woman I assumed to be her mom with determination in that emotionless expression. "I want this prisoner. I'll interrogate her and decide for myself what her proper punishment should be."

Mai's mom was bewildered by her daughter's words, and I saw her eyes shoot toward me with amazement that her daughter would be so interested in such a worthless person. Not sure how to react, her mom looked at her with uncertainty.

"Fine…" Her mom said, eyes narrowing at her daughter. "But she's your responsibility. Whatever punishment she receives, I expect you to inform me and your father immediately."

Mai scowled. "Fine."

Her mom then left and I saw a few of the guards followed her. When she was gone, I noticed about six guards remained, probably to make sure I didn't escape. "Take her to my room and watch her. She's not as weak as she looks," she said, shot me a pained look, and then turned and started to walk away.

"Mai!" I shrieked, yanking from the guards that kept my arms tight behind my back as they pulled me to my feet. "Please Mai! I have to get back to the others! Let me go!" Her step faltered, and I saw her head turn as if to look back at me. She turned however and kept walking, and I at once began to kick and scream at the men behind me. Once or twice I thought I'd had the upper hand as I got an arm free and smashed my elbow into some ones face, but of course there were just too many to fight.

If I just used my fire bending I'd escape in no time. At once I tried to heat my hands so I could use my powerful bending to attack.

A guard stepped in front of me suddenly, and though his face was completely covered by his helmet, I could hint just from the vibe I received from him that he was not happy. As I began to struggle even harder in the hold of the three guards that grasped my arms hard, and I tried once more to set fire to my hands, I watched with terror as the one in front of me picked up my water tribe knife. He then slammed the handle into my head and knocked the wind out of me. My struggles seized and I fell limply in my captors holds.

As darkness began to cloud my vision, I thought to myself, _What capture number is this? _Then my body went numb and I blacked out into unconsciousness.

When I came to after what felt like days but was only a few hours, I opened my eyes with a groan to find I was in a large room with elegant furniture that included a dresser, mirror, makeup table, and a fine bed that I just happened to be lying on. A warm blanket had been draped over me, and I felt a bandage had been wrapped around my arm where Mai had given me my cut. Taking a moment to collect myself I shoved the blanket off as I tried to regain my strength and sit up.

On the spot where the guard from earlier had hit me, I pressed my hand to my scalp where a dull pain could be felt. There was no sign of bleeding or a scratch, just a nasty bump that I could still feel. When I saw that guard again he'd pay.

After regaining my senses and pushing past my blurry vision I managed to find my feet and swung off the bed to a stand. Easing my way to my feet, I stumbled slightly but quickly caught myself. It was as I walked across the room that I walked past the mirror and my eyes widened at my reflection. Someone had changed me out of my messy and torn water tribe clothing and placed me in a dark red shirt that had loose sleeves. Instead of my blue slightly torn trousers I was wearing dark red brand new trousers, and I was also barefoot.

Staring at my reflection, I once again saw I looked like someone from the fire nation. Touching the red shirt, I immediately felt uncomfortable. This wasn't something I wanted. This wasn't me. Looking at my black hair that seemed to pop from the red clothing I wore, I frowned knowing I couldn't hide it. Technically I would always be from the fire nation. There was no escaping my bloodline, no matter how much I despised my father.

Turning, I stumbled toward the door to the large room I was in. My mind was shouting for me to forget the clothes and focus more on escape. Reaching for the door handle, I was about to grab it to yank it open only for the steel door to open and Mai to step in. When she saw me standing right in front of her she narrowed her eyes. Backing away, I searched the room for anything I could use as a weapon.

"What's the hurry?" she asked, her tone almost emotionless.

Looking at her, I saw more flashes of memories shoot through my mind. Mai and I feeding turtle ducks… Mai and I braiding each other's hair… Mai and I hiding from Azula and Ty Lee. She was so happy in these memories though, and now as I stared at her emotionless eyes I knew the Mai I once knew years ago was gone. In her place was a girl with nothing but boredom and annoyance written all over her face.

"Um… My friends will worry so I better get to them before they stress too much over my whereabouts," I said, trying to remain calm but feeling my heart pound rapidly. Mai's eyes continued to stare at me and I felt a bit intimidated by her glance. "Um… Got to go."

Trying to take a step forward, I suddenly felt a knife pressed up to my throat. Staring at this girl with wide eyes, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. This definitely wasn't the friend I remembered from nine years ago. Narrowing my own eyes at her, I knew I had no choice but to escape. No matter how excited I was to see someone else from my past, I had to get away. Kale and the others were probably worried sick.

I knew I had to fight and escape. _Warrior training please don't fail me now._

Jumping back, I turned and did a back kick knocking Mai off guard and sending her onto the ground. Then I turned back and grabbed the knife she had dropped after the impact. Holding the knife in my hand, I saw her stare at me with surprise. Then she growled and jumped up again. Pulling another knife from one of her hair buns, I quickly jerked to the side as she threw it at me. Then I grabbed her extended arm with my free hand and pulled it behind her. She gasped in shock, but froze when I shoved her body onto the ground and held the knife to her throat.

"I'm sorry Mai… You gave me no choice," I said, feeling terrible for doing this to her. Even if Mai and I's friendship was still blurry, I still regretted attacking her like this.

"Why are you doing this?" She hissed, struggling to get out from under my hold. "What happened to you? Why are you working with the enemy?" Her voice, though she tried to cover it, was filled with pain at my betrayal.

Sighing, I jerked off of her and got to my feet. "They're not the enemy. They're my family… Right now you are my only enemy in this room."

Suddenly her foot connected with my ankles and I landed hard on the rocky floor beneath me with an 'oof'. Then I was the one trapped as Mai fell on top of me and held a knife to my throat digging her other hand into my shoulder. Her knee also dug into my stomach as she held me down and I winced in pain. "You are Amber aren't you? The Fire Lords daughter… My best friend!" To my surprise Mai was shedding tears as she stared into the terrified eyes of her lost friend. "Why are you betraying us… your own people?"

My own tears began to fill in my eyes. "Get off of me," I snapped, trying to buck her off. "You're not my people! My heart lies with the water tribe and the avatar!"

She dug her fingers into my skin harder. "What have you done to my best friend?!" She hissed, and I could see in her eyes she was hurt that I was resisting so much. She probably hadn't expected me to be so desperate to leave.

"I haven't done anything to her! She just lost her memory and barely remembers you! So get off of her before she gets really mad and hurts you!" Tears slid down my cheeks as I admitted to Mai the truth. She now knew that I barely remembered her. All I knew about her was we were best friends and use to hang out together at the palace. I had no clue how we met nor how we'd gotten so close.

Mai was surprised by the words I'd just said, and her eyes widened in both amazement and horror. "You lost your memory…" she whispered. Finally I had her listening, and I sighed when her knee lifted from my stomach and she lowered the knife from my throat.

"Yes…" I began. "When my father tried to have me killed…"

Somehow I found myself sitting cross legged on the floor, Mai sitting across from me on her knees listening to every word I said. She was horrified to learn that my father was the one who signed my death wish, and she was amazed when I told her the water tribe saved me and took me in as their own. When I got to the part about how I'd lost my memory from a steel pipe falling on my head her light brown eyes filled with pain. After I finished telling my story about Zuko coming to our village, me joining the others to help Aang train, meeting Kale on the road, our trip to the North Pole, defeating Zhao, and finally our journey here, I noticed Mai was quiet as she took it all in. When I finished we just sat in silence for a long time, and I wasn't sure what to do.

"So…" She finally began, finding her voice. "You really did lose your memory?"

Nodding, I felt somewhat ashamed. "I remember a few things from my past. Some things are still missing, but I do remember you Mai. At least I remember the part about us being best friends. I'm sorry if I hurt you for never coming back home, but I had no clue where my home even was. Now that I've gotten my memories back somewhat I actually don't even want to go home. If father wanted to kill me in the past, then there's no doubt in my mind he still wants me dead."

She pondered over what I said, and I could tell her fists tighten a bit in rage. "I can't believe that after all this time it was the Fire Lord's fault you disappeared. He told us he searched everywhere for you but there was no evidence of your survival anywhere. We all thought you were dead… Then the posters came out a few weeks ago about a fire nation girl traveling with the avatar and I would've never imagined it was actually you. I guess I thought you were really gone, so I stopped looking."

Smiling weakly, I felt the urge to lean forward and hug Mai. At first she was tense as I wrapped my arms around her, but after a moment she returned my gesture. "I'm sorry Mai… If I never lost my memory, you know I would've tried to come home. I can't imagine how much pain my sudden disappearance caused you." Tears filled in my eyes as I thought of what Mai must've endured over the years as she thought her best friend to be dead.

Mai embraced me tighter. "I'm sorry too… If I hadn't been such a coward in the past, I might've been able to protect you."

Smiling weakly, I pulled from her to see she too was crying slightly. "We were six Mai… It was okay to be scared."

She smiled… That same smile I remembered from so many years ago. It was probably the last time I'd see it though...

It was early morning when Mai finally left me to go get some rest. She'd told me that there were still guards positioned outside the room, so escape wasn't possible. She knew how eager I was to get back to the others and she wasn't letting me go. "You're still my prisoner. I can't just let you go to the enemy. Sorry."

That's why for the next five or so hours I just sat on the bed I'd been given and stared at the floor thinking of a way to escape. I'd tested many different avenues. The window to the room was about forty feet in the air, so if I jumped I could use my fire to slow my fall only to give away my escape in the process. That wouldn't work… I'd also thought about fighting the guards outside but I knew that would only get me in more trouble than I was already in.

That left me with my third option… Just sit in this room obediently and pretend I'm being a good little prisoner, then when Mai lets her guard down I'd slip out of the huge mansion that was once an Earth Kings palace.

Yeah, that one would work.

Eventually I lied back and dozed off from boredom. When I woke up later it was because I was starving, thirsty, and the door to the room was swinging open. At first I expected to see Mai, but I was surprised to see it was a guard who didn't look happy one bit. "Come with me," he ordered, his lips in a scowl as he waited for me to follow.

"What's going on?" I asked, not sure why this guy was here or if I wanted to go with him.

He didn't answer, and I decided I wasn't going to ever get an answer. Standing from the bed, I followed the man as he led me through the dim halls of the giant mansion. Walking down at least two floors and through five hallways we finally arrived at a familiar place. It was the old dining room where King Bumi had once gave us a feast before imprisoning us and making Aang and I do those pointless tests.

Walking through the red painted double doors, I expected to see an earthy table with stone chairs, but I saw the Fire Nation had remodeled. The table was now a very long fine wooden table with red and gold cloth that covered it. Wooden chairs with cushions were placed around the table, and my eyes widened when I saw its occupants.

Mai was seated in one chair, looking a bit bored but trying to hide it. Beside her sat a petit girl of about fourteen with a dark pink tube top that showed her perfect hour glass figure. She had dark brown hair that she kept in a very long braid and her brown eyes were filled with so much excitement as she chewed on a chicken leg. She was chattering about something with her mouth a little full.

"Ty Lee… It's not proper to talk with your mouth full," a voice snapped, and my eyes widened when I turned to see the owner of the voice. A girl sat at the head of the table, her fingernails long as she played with a blue flame on her fingertips. She had black hair in a top knot with two strands hanging loosely to frame her face. She wore a fine red and golden head piece that rested in her knot. Her gold eyes were bored as she stared at the blue fire that made shivers go down my spine. "Where is this surprise Mai? I'm getting impatient."

Mai looked up toward the door, and it was then her eyes laid on me. "You don't have to wait anymore Azula. Amber's finally here." Mai said calmly, standing and walking over to me. My eyes widened when she spoke this and I looked at the girl who now stared at me with surprise. My sister extinguished her flame and jumped out of the chair, her jaw dropped slightly as she stared at me, the girl who was supposed to be dead.

Azula looked just the same as she had in the past, apart from the fact that she had breasts now and was a lot taller. Her pride was still evident in the way she held herself though, and I could still see that small hint of hate etched in her expression. She'd never liked me much when we were younger, and as I stood a few yards away from her I knew she still hated my guts.

As what Mai had spoken finally hit Azula, my little sister put on the most terrifying grin I'd ever seen. "Well, well, well… This is indeed a surprise Mai… My older sister is alive after all. And here I thought what Zuko had told me was a lie." She stepped toward me and I held my ground beginning to feel my hands heat up. If it was a fight Azula wanted, I'd give it to her. "So tell me Amber… How is it you are here and not dead? Why is it you joined the enemy and are fighting against your own people? You must regale me on all the details so I can get caught up."

Looking at Mai, I felt betrayed she'd do this to me. She'd probably just signed my death wish. There was no doubt Azula was a hundred percent loyal to father and wanted me dead as much as he did. She'd probably end my life any moment now.

"So, little sister… Tell me… Have you enjoyed being daddy's only daughter?" I snapped back at Azula, knowing fully well she was not happy I was alive. She'd never liked me in the past, always calling me weak and a wimp.

Azula chuckled and walked toward me, so I took a few steps back not wanting to be entirely close to her. She gave me the creeps. "Well, well… My sister's gotten a backbone over these last nine years. Weak and crying Amber actually has the guts to talk back to me now." She began to circle me, her eyes looking at me as if I were prey. "I'd say I'm overjoyed to see you alive, but truthfully I wished you had drowned in those icy waters after all."

My fists tightened in rage and I shot daggers at her with my eyes. A flame began to heat in my palm. "You make me feel so loved," I spat. Mai and Ty Lee stood a bit away, and I could see Mai was surprised Azula was reacting this way. She must've thought my sister would be glad to see me. Ty Lee looked a bit worried and at the same time glad to see I was alive.

"You know how I can make you feel even more loved. By showing you just how truly glad I am to see you again," Azula hissed, and then I saw her light a blue flame in her hand. As she shot it at me, I did a cartwheel dodging the blast and landing on my feet. This made me sigh in relief. Good thing I took those warrior classes. When I looked back I saw her blue flames had turned into regular fire as it ate at the carpet on the ground. Immediately I understood, Azula's fire was only blue because it was hot to begin with, then it grew weak and returned to regular flames.

Smirking, I lit a purple flame in my hand and said, "And here's my way of showing how happy I am to see you." Azula growled and shot more fire at me but I ducked under the hot flames and shot my fire at Azula. She screamed as I hit her in the stomach and knocked her on her back. Her clothing was singed and she had purple flames eating at her shirt sleeve. She quickly rolled over dousing the flames, and then stood.

When she turned toward me again, I saw her eyes staring at the purple flames in my hands. "So it's true," she said mostly to herself. Then her eyes narrowed at me. "Father had told me the truth before, but when he did I thought he was crazy. I mean how could a spirit give power to a human being? Well, I guess the proof is right in front of me."

My eyes widened at her words, and I felt my flames douse in shock. "Father knew… he knew all along I was granted life by a spirit."

Azula scowled. "Don't tell me you had no clue!" When I continued to stare at her not sure what to say, her eyes shot open wide and a cruel smirk spread across her face. "No… No way! Mom never told you!" Azula then burst into laughter and I saw her lips curl up in a devilish manner. "She kept you in the dark, yet she told father… That shows how stupid she really was."

"What do you know?!" I ordered, lighting another flame but this time from anger.

Azula stepped forward and grinned. "I can't believe no one told you… Of course father sentenced you to death before anyone could…"

"Told me what?!" I cried out, my purple flames expanding.

Azula grinned. "You're part spirit; granted life by the Spirit of Fire. Mother told Father, being the stupid woman she once was, and father immediately feared that you would one day over power him when you developed your full abilities, and therefore he had Zhao try and have you killed. I guess that filthy oaf failed and now here you are; alive and in my presence. It seems your spiritual abilities are growing greater and greater every day."

The spirit of fire… The spirit of fire was the one to grant me life and these unnatural gifts…

"What? That's crazy Azula!" Ty Lee said, as I doused my flames once more in shock. "Amber isn't part spirit!"

Mai stepped forward too. "So it's true… The Fire Lord had sentenced Amber to death after all, and you knew Azula!" Her pained eyes moved from Azula to me as I felt my blood go cold.

"The Spirit of Fire…" I whispered.

Roku's voice echoed through my head, _His name is Huo. He wanted to help…_

Wincing from Roku's words, I instinctively touched my wrist where the fire nation bracelet should've been. The only one there was my water tribe bracelet. My eyes shot open when I realized then and there that Roku was speaking to me without my bracelet on.

_The bracelet helped me connect to you when your spirit was still trying to break out. Now that you are powerful enough to connect to the spirit world I can speak to you freely,_ Roku answered.

"Mai! You will not look at me that way! Have you forgotten who your princess is?" Azula snapped, and I jumped at her hard voice. Looking at Mai, I saw her light brown eyes glaring daggers at Azula.

Ty Lee added, "Technically Amber's our princess too Azula."

Azula growled. "She lost that title nine years ago! Now she's a traitor to this nation and the enemy, just like Zuko! If you two know what's good for you you'll remember who your loyalties should be with."

Glaring, I spat, "Zuko's been doing all he can for your nation! And just so you know, I feel Mai and Ty Lee should be free to make their own decisions! You're not Fire Lady yet!"

"Shut up!" Azula screamed. Then suddenly she shot another blue flame at me and I screamed jumping out of the way. It was as I did this, I knew I had to get out of here. Azula would fry me if she got a hold of me. She wanted me dead, and I knew that was her goal at this very moment. "Stop being a coward and fight me!" Another blue flame shot at me and this time I was too slow. The fire hit my skin and I hissed in pain clutching my side.

If the spirit of fire granted me life, then why did fire still hurt?

_Your body is mortal, Amber… It is your spirit that has been touched by Huo…_

Oh great… That makes me feel so much better, Roku!

With a scream I shot a hard blast at Azula and she used her own fire to meet my attack. As purple and blue fire hit each other a huge explosion was formed throwing us both off our feet. Black smoke filled the room and I heard Mai and Ty Lee coughing on the smoke. As the room was clouded I took off running toward the door to the eating hall we were in. When I got into the hallway, I dodged guards who reached to grab me and took off down the hall toward a window at its very end.

To my relief there was a mail chute about ten feet from the window, and I knew it was my best option for escape. As I stepped on the windowsill I turned to see about six guards running toward me. Azula rushed out of the room where black smoke was still flowing out, and I almost laughed when I saw her face covered in ash.

"Bye Azula!" I yelled, then I turned and jumped through the air. With pure luck I was able to land right in the middle of the mail chute. Last time I was in one of these was with Sokka, Katara, and Aang. Those were fun times.

Catching myself from sliding down, I looked back at the window where Azula now stood watching me with rage. "Tell daddy I hate him next time you see him!"

She growled and charged her fingers creating what appeared to be lightning. With a shriek I jumped just as lightning hit the very spot I'd been standing and the chute cracked shattering rock everywhere. As I fell through the air I screamed as the ground raced toward me. With as much power as I could muster I shot fire at the earth which lightened my fall allowing me to land on my feet easily.

"SEIZE HER!" I heard my sister scream at the guards from a good forty feet above. Smirking, I took off running through the city back toward what I hoped was the giant gate out. As I ran fire nation citizens jumped out of my path and guards started to chase me. By the time I reached the steel doors of the giant gate I was being chased by at least thirty guards. Seeing the steel gate was shut and there was no possible way to go through it, I went with my second option.

Running down alley after alley, I finally managed to lose the guards for a moment, then yanked from the earth a circular door to the sewage pipes below. Deep down I knew I would regret this later, but at the same time I had no other choice. Jumping down, I let the drain cover fall behind me as I landed in the water.

Standing in the dark for a moment, I heard heavy boots of guards as they ran above on the ground passing right where I had been. Sighing in relief when I heard the men were gone, I lit a flame and began to make my way back through the pipe toward the mote I'd previously been to less than twenty four hours ago.

As I walked I began to notice the pain. My ankles were killing me from landing on them so hard, my arm stung from the bandage that was going bad, and my side was on fire from where Azula had burned me. That wasn't exactly the sister reunion I'd been looking for, but at least Mai and Ty Lee were glad to see me.

When I finally exited the sewage pipes and arrived back at the mote that surrounded the giant city, I swam to the other side of the large water mass and then began to climb up the rocky cliff with my soaked fire nation clothes, bare feet, and sore hands. Originally we'd used Appa to fly down so we could get to where we needed to be. Now I had to climb a fifty foot cliff not daring to look down, all by myself.

When I finally reached the top, I was out of breath with blisters on my hands and aching muscles. Rolling onto flat surface, I felt the sun beat down on me as I tried to catch my breath and find my strength. Determined to find the others, I managed to stand and ignore the pain and exhaustion. Luckily I didn't even have to walk far, because to my relief I saw a familiar face running toward me from around the corner of some rocks.

"Momo!" I cried with relief, feeling my favorite lemur glide onto my shoulder and nuzzle my face. Petting his head with my blistered hand, I said, "Glad to see a familiar face."

Just as I spoke this, I heard someone run around the corner which Momo had just emerged from. "Momo! Come back here boy! Before the Fire Nation sees you!" Aang's familiar voice called, and sure enough the young air bender ran into view looking a bit frantic.

When he saw me, his eyes filled with relief. "Amber!" Rushing forward, I gasped as he suddenly through his arms around me. He was almost my height so it wasn't too awkward. "We were so worried about you! What happened?" Aang asked.

Smiling weakly, I said, "Let's just say, my sister and I aren't a happy family."

Aang walked me back to camp then, Momo hopping from one shoulder to the other. Aang explained to me how last night when we were separated Aang and the others had met the Earth Kingdom citizens who were living in hiding underneath the earth. They managed to use my imaginary illness Pentapox to get the guards to open the gate and let all the citizens through. He told me they made camp about a mile from the city and how they didn't realize the Fire Nation Governor had a baby son that somehow followed the group out of the gate. Now they had a fire nation baby that they were planning to trade in for Bumi at noon today. That was in four hours.

"Mai didn't tell me she had a brother," I muttered, realizing I hadn't really learned much about Mai.

"Mai?" Aang asked, staring at me with question.

Bowing my head, I sighed in defeat. "She once was my best friend. I guess now were nothing but enemies."

He smiled weakly. "Sorry Amber… At least you still have us."

"Yeah… I guess so."

When we finally got back to the others Katara, Sokka, and Kale were over joyed to see me. Katara and Sokka pretty much gave me a very warm family hug, and when they pulled away Kale pulled me in his arms and kissed me on the forehead. Then he whispered, "I was so worried about you."

I smiled, glad to be back in his arms. "You shouldn't worry so much." Then I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. He pulled me closer to him and returned my kiss.

"Alright! Alright! Enough!" Sokka snapped, and Kale was yanked from me by my brother. As he dragged Kale across the campsite full of curious Earth Kingdom citizens, I saw Katara staring at me with horror. "You're bleeding!" Looking at my hands, I saw my blisters were open and blood was staining my hands. "Come on," Katara said.

Taking my wrist, she led me over to Appa who was seated away from the group. Sitting me beside him where there was shade from his body, I watched as she took water from her pouch and made it glow in her hands. Then she took my hands in her own and began to work her healing touch.

As Katara healed me, I said softly, "I met my sister Azula today." Katara was surprised but only smiled weakly at me and asked what happened. Sighing, I muttered, "She tried to kill me."

Her eyes shot open amazed. "What? Why?"

Shrugging, I looked away from her kind blue eyes. "She wants me dead as much as dad. She knows that I'm part spirit and fears I'll destroy them all." Katara suddenly jerked my hands forward and I yelped in pain.

"What do you mean part spirit?" Katara asked, and it was then I realized I'd only really told Kale.

Gulping, I said weakly, "I guess I should tell you… It's only fair you know."

In the end I told Katara everything, and I mean everything. I told her about how when I was born I was dying, and how the spirit of fire Huo gave me life. Then I told her about my mom and how she was the one who told the Fire Lord, only to make him want to see me dead in fear I'd destroy him. Then I told her how because I was saved by Huo I was half spirit myself and could speak to the other spirits freely. When I spoke to her about Oma and Shu she was astounded and speechless. When I finished speaking, she was silent not sure what to say.

She probably thought I was a freak now, and I believed it myself. I was indeed a freak. No wonder dad had wanted me dead. With a sigh, I pulled my knees to my chest feeling a bit nervous that Katara hadn't spoken anything yet. It seemed like forever until she finally spoke.

"So… You're like a spirit then? I guess that would explain the strange colored fire or how you can talk to Roku, Yue, and other spirits," Katara said softly, and I could see her blue eyes weren't staring at me with disgust or terror, but more with amazement.

Relieved, I smiled weakly. "You don't hate me then?"

She was surprised. "Hate you! Why would I hate you?"

"Well I'm a freak, so…"

Katara sighed, and suddenly pulled me in a sisterly embrace. "You're not a freak stupid."

My heart lifted a bit by her words. Well at least one person didn't think I was a freak.

Later as noon drew closer, I saw Aang was anxious to trade the annoying fire nation baby to get Bumi back. As the baby yanked on my black hair while I sat on the earthy ground and I tried to pry his tiny hand from it, Kale and Katara walked over, Katara picking the baby up and holding him in her arms. "We're ready to go," Katara said. "We think it's best if you sit this one out though."

For once I actually didn't argue. To say I wanted to see Azula again was a complete and total lie, not to mention I wasn't too happy with Mai or Ty Lee for not having my back. "I'm fine with that… Just be careful," I said. "Azula's a cold hearted monster who won't hesitate to kill any of you. Watch out for her lightening too."

She nodded. "We'll be fine. If she attacks I'm sure we can handle it. Aang took out a whole naval fleet a few weeks ago."

Sighing, I nodded and pulled my knees to my chest. As Katara and the baby walked off, I felt Kale sit beside me. "You're not going?" I asked.

He sighed. "Nope… Katara wants me to stay behind and 'watch' you. She thinks you'll follow and endanger yourself like you always do."

Rolling my eyes, I understood her concern but at the same time was annoyed she'd stick a babysitter on me. He wasn't the worst company to have though. As we waited for them to make their trade and comeback, we distanced ourselves from the group of Earth Kingdom people and sat across from one another waiting for the others to return. As we waited I asked Kale, "Do you think they'll be okay?"

He smiled. "If I know those three after everything we've been through together, I have no doubt in my mind they'll be fine. I know Azula's a cold hearted monster but she's weaker than your family. They'll beat her no problem."

Nodding, I felt a bit reassured, but at the same time I was anxious. After seeing that lightening trick Azula used on me, I feared she'd have the upper hand.

An hour later though I was beyond relieved to find Appa flying back toward us. When they landed the citizens gathered waiting to know what happened and to see if their king survived. Aang, Katara, and Sokka all looked bummed out and a bit disappointed by what had occurred. "King Bumi wouldn't let us save him. He said when the time is right he'll break out himself," Aang said, frowning at the fact that his friend did not accept his help. "Not to mention we were forced to leave because that Azula chick was shooting lightening at us. I managed to return the baby but that's all I could do."

"So then what do we do?" a lady in the group called out.

Kale and I walked over to Appa and I turned to the group of terrified citizens with a kind smile. "Right now all you need to do is watch out for one another. Find a place you can be safe, and then one day you will be able to return to your homes. We're going to stop the Fire Lord, and when we do everything will be fine. You just have to have hope."

The citizens seemed to calm after I'd spoken to them all. When I'd finished I was a bit surprised myself I'd spoken, but at the same time I was glad I did. My own words reassured myself.

We would defeat my father, and when we did everything would fine…


	4. Huo

We'd been flying for two weeks. Two weeks of stopping at village to village and finding no Earth Bending teacher for Aang. By the time we found one it would be summer already and the comet would come. Sighing, I looked over the side of the saddle staring bored at the swampy forest below. Kale and Sokka were arguing about something while Aang flew Appa and Katara braided her hair.

As I stared below me, I began to just let my mind wander. Roku's words came back to me from a few weeks ago. _His name is Huo... He wanted to help._

Why did some spirit named Huo grant me life? I was no one significant. All I happened to be was a pathetic wimpy girl who always seemed to get into trouble. What made Huo want to save me instead of others?

My hand fiddled with the gold bracelet on my wrist as I continued to ponder over everything. Why had Huo chosen me to save?

"I told you we should go to Ba Sing Sei! It's the best place to find Aang an earth bending teacher!" Kale snapped causing me to jump and look over at him as he pointed to a spot on the map Sokka had pulled out.

Sokka scowled. "And I told you that it's too much a risk. If we go to the city and don't find an Earth Bending teacher then were just back to square one! I say we continue searching the villages until we find one!"

Kale sighed and threw his hands up in defeat. "Fine! You win oh wise leader!"

Rolling my eyes I turned back to look down at the swamp again. As I stared at it for a bit longer I suddenly felt so tired. Resting my body against the side of the saddle, I closed my eyes as I began to drift. After a second of drifting, I heard an unfamiliar voice in my ears.

_"You have become a beautiful flame..."_

The voice was soft but male, and for some reason I felt I'd heard it before. Opening my eyes with surprise, I looked around but only saw the others as we continued to fly Appa through the sky. Kale met my eyes as I looked around in confusion and he shot me a look of question. "Did you guys hear that?" I asked.

Sokka and Kale stared at me for a moment unsure what I meant, while Katara looked worried. "Hear what?"

My hand immediately touched my head. "That voice... I could've sworn-"

"Maybe you should lay down for a little bit Amber... You look kind of pa-"

Appa suddenly flew upward as if he were dodging a fireball below him, which instantly cut Katara off. As he changed direction I gasped when my body slammed into the side of the saddle. "What happened?" Katara cried, looking at Aang who was gripping Appa's reins hard.

"I don't know! He just freaked out and-" Appa groaned and jerked to the side as if he were dodging something again. This time I didn't just hit the side of the saddle. As my body met the leather side of the saddle I flipped over and screamed as I no longer felt something below me.

"Amber!" Kale shouted, but his voice soon faded as I got farther and farther from them all.

Air surrounded me as I fell toward the earth below and I screamed bloody murder. As I headed toward the forest with wind rushing past my body, I saw a bright light fly up at me like the light Aang had shot off when he escaped the ice burg months ago. As I was consumed by the light, I heard a woman cry out, _"She's dying! Please save her!"_

As I closed my eyes from sudden exhaustion, I felt a tear fall down my cheek as unconsciousness finally consumed me. When I woke up, I had no doubt I'd be dead. There was no way I'd survive this fall.

_"Roku, I beg you! Don't let her die. I'll do anything!"_

Gasping, I opened my eyes and found I was no longer falling through the air but had somehow appeared at the fire nation palace royal garden. Lying in the soft grass, I tried to stand from the warm earth and somehow found my legs. Standing with stiff joints, I groaned as I clutched my head which was pounding in pain.

"Princess!"

My eyes widened and I turned in surprise to see a young woman around twenty running into the palace garden. She appeared to be a servant girl, her robe dull and showing poor quality while her hair was done up messily in a bun. She raced right past me and I watched her in surprise. For a second I thought she'd been talking to me. Now I understood; no one could see me.

Watching her go, I watched as she raced across the flower covered garden toward the palace pond where another woman sat on a stone bench hunched over. "My lady, is everything alright?"

Walking over to the two women, I saw the servant kneeling in front of the woman with deep worry. When I got to the edge of the small pond I finally saw who this princess was. "Mom!" I cried out loud, then went to race forward and pull my sobbing mother into a hug. Something stopped me though. Almost as if something in the back of my mind told me not to interfere.

As I stared at my mom, I finally saw her for what she truly looked like. Her face was pale and her eyes were so pained. She had sweat beading down her forehead and tears falling from her eyes. Her black hair was disheveled and she clutched her stomach which I now saw showed sign that she was pregnant.

"Princess... please get inside. Prince Ozai is worried about you. He doesn't feel this heat is good for you," the maid pleaded, her soft brown eyes filling with tears as she stared at the pained princess in front of her.

My mom winced. "She's dying Jala... I can feel it. She isn't moving much anymore, and at times I wonder if she's even still alive. The only reason I know she's still with me is because she nudges me every now and then. What if I lose her though...? I- I'll never forgive myself if I let my baby girl die."

My eyes filled with tears as I watched my pained mom cover her eyes with her hands and sob. The maid sighed and then sat beside my mom grabbing her in a hug as if she were her best friend and not her master. "It will be alright my princess. These things happen though, and you can't blame yourself. When my mom had her third child it was a still birth but if she blamed herself it would've killed her..." This only made my mom sob harder and I wanted so much to grab her in a hug.

"But..." the maid said, trying to calm my mom. "If I know you then I know your daughter will be able to pull through this. You are both strong, and if you have hope then I'm sure you both can survive. You just have to have faith."

My mom looked up into the kind maids eyes with surprise. After a moment of stopping her sobs, my mom sighed and looked at the pond with such tired eyes. "I know I should have faith... I'm just scared. What will Ozai think if this child dies? He'll probably hate me for killing his own flesh and blood!"

The maid pulled my mom closer to her. "You won't lose her... I know you won't. She has your strength."

"Mom! I'm right here!" I cried, going to run forward. "Mom!" My foot tripped on the ground and I fell on my knees hard shutting my eyes when I felt the ground scrape it. When I opened my eyes again I found I was no longer in the palace garden but in a giant bed chamber; a bed chamber that could only belong to a very wealthy fire nation noble or royal. Standing, I winced when I felt pain radiate through my knee, but I ignored it and looked around.

The room I was in was elegant with a huge bed and fine furniture. The drapes to the windows were drawn letting in soft light from a setting sun. Walking over to the bed, I was amazed to see someone was under the silk covers. With her eyes closed and her beautiful face so pale, I once more looked down at my mom as she slept with exhaustion. She looked so weak, my mom...

Was it because of me? Had my birth caused this much pain on my mother?

"Mom... I'm so sorry," I whispered, then dropped to my knees beside her and touched my hand to hers. As I did I felt pain vibrate through my arm and I yanked away with a gasp. Clutching my arm with a wince, I knew why it had happened. Whoever had put me here did not want me interfering.

Standing from the bed, I felt tears slide down my cheeks and I tried to wipe them away. Why did I have to be so weak? At times I felt like I could do nothing right. It seems that even before I was born I was weak no matter what I did. Why did the spirit Huo choose to save me when I was nothing but a burden to everyone?

"Roku... Please save her... Please," my mother whispered, and it was then I saw in her thin and pale sweaty hand a gold bracelet that looked so familiar. Instinctively I traced my finger over the exact same bracelet resting on my wrist.

_"Are you sure..." _Roku suddenly spoke, and I jumped when I saw him appear out of nowhere in the room. He came over beside me and I stared at him in question. Could he see me? He showed no sign of knowing I was here, so I assumed I was invisible to him as well. Roku walked over to his Granddaughter and placed one of his glowing hands on the hand clutching the bracelet. _"Remember what I told you. I have no control over what this may do to your daughter in the future. The powers she will possess are unknown to me. Never before has a spirit granted this much life to a child. Tui is the only known spirit who has ever granted life to a mortal and even that child wasn't as weak as yours."_

My mom winced as pain shot through her body and I felt more guilt flow through me. "I don't care..." she weakly said. "I'll try anything. Please Roku... Please save her... She's dying..."

Roku sighed, and then brushed his elder hand across my mom's sweaty forehead. It was then I understood. My mom could see Roku... My eyes shot to the bracelet again and saw it was glowing a gold light around her wrist. So mom had used the bracelet to connect with Roku as well.

_"I've spoken with a spirit named Huo... He's heard of your situation and wishes to assist any way he can."_

My mom's weak eyes suddenly became alert as she took in her grandfather's words. Looking at Roku's kind gold eyes, she asked, "The Spirit of Fire?"

He smiled. _"Yes... He has been watching your situation for a while and wishes to help. After seeing what Tui did for the water tribe girl at the North Pole, he decided he too wants to grant another life."_

My mother let out a sob of relief, and I was surprised at the smile that stretched across her face. "My daughter will live then?"

Roku looked pained now as he stared at his weak and wary granddaughter. Even if Roku was a spirit, he still cared for his family more than anything. As my mother began to drift once more, her mind now at ease that I would not perish before I was born, Roku turned and looked behind him. Turning I saw just what he was seeing.

Standing by the wall in the enormous room was a glowing figure. He wore a dark purple robe that was almost black and had flame colored hair that was messy and hung over his eyes a bit. He had a tall lean pale body and his eyes were pure gold. He barely looked twenty in mortal years but his eyes were filled with so much wisdom that I knew he was much older in spirit. _"Huo... You came," _Roku said, almost sounding relieved. Had Roku not expected Huo to actually make it?

He smirked and stepped forward, flames almost seeming to illuminate around him as he came toward us. His steps were like fire, constant and flowing. He also created a sense of warmth in the air as he approached _"Come Roku... Do I ever back down on my word?"_

Roku smiled, then turned and bowed at the spirit in respect. _"I leave her in your hands Huo... Ursa is ready when you are."_

Huo stepped forward and looked down at the mid twenty year old woman lying weakly on the bed. He smiled down at her. _"You told her, right... About our plans."_

Roku immediately looked at Huo with pained eyes. _"No... I did not want her having second thoughts."_

Huo chuckled. _"Not very wise Roku... Your granddaughter won't be pleased when one day she wakes up and her daughter is gone."_

Roku sighed. _"I know... But it has to happen. If I told it may have caused problems in the future."_

_"Hm..."_ Huo said, touching a finger to his chin. _"I suppose so." _Then he shot his piercing gold eyes at Roku. _"You're not having second thoughts, right Avatar Roku?"_

Roku closed his eyes to try and hide the pain that was so evident on his old face. _"No... It has to happen. This is the only way we can make things right again. Fire has become known as dangerous and the enemy. My great-granddaughter must restore the true meaning of fire to everyone, and to do this she must help defeat her family from winning this war."_

Huo smirked again. _"Yes... It's a lot to put on one girl's shoulders though. Having to betray her family will be a hard burden to place on her, but I suppose it will have to do. I despise when people fear me. My fire is supposed to bring beauty, life, and warmth to this world, but the people I have blessed it with are using it for pain and destruction. I truly do hope this girl can restore its true meaning in the future to come."_

My Great-grandfather turned then and began to leave. He stopped however and looked at Huo with hard eyes. _"I'm already making the arrangements to get the girl away from her family. When the child is born I will send Ursa to tell her husband everything about the girl. I have no doubt that he will fear the child and want her gone. Fire Lord Azulon will most likely feel the same way when he hears the news. I will make sure my great-granddaughter is in good hands afterward, and then we will just have to see what happens."_

The spirit of fire frowned. _"You mean see if Avatar Aang truly does escape that iceberg."_

Roku smiled. _"I'll be sure he does. No matter what the young avatar will meet my Great-granddaughter, and they both will defeat the fire nation together and finally restore peace and balance to this war."_

_"That does sound like a plan," _Huo whispered. Roku nodded, then turned and immediately his spirit left the room to go back to the spirit world. Huo remained, and I watched in shock at everything I just heard. Roku and Huo had it planned out all along. They were the reason I was torn from my family all those years ago. They were the reason I ended up in the South Pole. Was my whole life set out for me?

Tears fell from my eyes as I continued to watch the spirit who was now extending his hand onto my mother's forehead. _"Princess Ursa... I have watched your suffering for some time now and wish to grant you this gift. Your daughter will now be a part of me. She will be my own flame." _Then he pressed his palm to my mother's forehead and whispered, _"Your daughter will live."_

Purple light surrounded my mother's body then and I screamed as the light blinded me. Covering my eyes with my hand, I heard my mother's scream as Huo placed life into the baby inside her. Backing away I felt my leg hit something and I fell back splashing into some warm water.

Gasping, I took my hands from my eyes only to see and hear nothing. It was dark now where I was showing night time had come. Though I could see a little bit, I saw I was surrounded by dark shadows that stretched from the ground to the sky. Trying to stand, I gasped when I felt pain shoot up from my ankle. Crap! I must've twisted my ankle when I fell again.

Eventually I found the strength to stand from the three inch deep water I was in, and when I did I limped my way over to one of the shadows I understood to be a tree. Touching the bark, I felt moss on it and tried not freak out after thinking it could be something else. Lighting a flame in my hand to give me some light, I saw it was just moss and I let my racing heart calm.

"Where am I now?" I thought out loud. Was I in the spirit world?

Where ever I was, I knew I wouldn't be able to get out until the sun rose. This thought surprised me then. It was mid-afternoon when I fell from Appa's saddle. How long had I been gone from the others? Were they looking for me?

Sighing, I limped out of the swampy mush I was in and found solid land. Too exhausted and in pain to do anything, I lied down on the cold dirt and let exhaustion take me over. As I fell into sleep, I couldn't help but remember my mother's scream as Huo granted me life.

**Kale POV**

This was all my fault. If I'd just grabbed Amber when she hit the side of the saddle then she would still be with us. After Amber had fallen off Appa we'd tried to turn him around so we could fly down and catch her. By the time we turned though a bright light was shooting up from the swampy forest below and consumed Amber just as she reached the tree tops. We all watched with terror as her figure could no longer be seen anywhere.

Aang immediately tried to fly Appa down toward the swamp but something happened. A tornado appeared out of nowhere forcing us all to fall from Appa's saddle and land in the swamp below. Our falls weren't too bad, but when we managed to collect ourselves we saw Appa and Momo were both nowhere to be seen and we were stuck in the swamp.

Now we were all walking through the swamp together, our eyes searching for any sign of Appa, Momo, or Amber.

Sokka somehow got a hold of a machete- no idea how- and began to chop through the swamps vines and weeds as we all followed behind him. "First the swamp eats my sister, and now we're all trapped here. Someone's going to pay," Sokka muttered, slicing through another vine.

Aang stepped a bit closer to Sokka looking anxious. "Sokka... The longer we're here the more I think you shouldn't be doing that."

Sokka scowled. "No, I asked the swamp. It said this was fine."He turned to a nearby root and asked, "Right, swamp?" I rolled my eyes as he grabbed the root and shook it to make it seem like it was talking back, "No problem, Sokka!"

Deciding to add my input, I said, "I agree with Aang. I've heard rumors of this swamp from travelers. If what they say is true, then this swamp has a mind of its own. Almost like supernatural forces are controlling it. I don't think it will be too happy if you attack it like that."

Sokka turned to look at me with hard eyes. "It attacked us first! Not to mention it has my sister!"

Katara sighed. "Alright everyone... Let's all just calm down. Amber's gotten out of many things in the past. I'm sure she'll be fine. I think we need to make camp before it gets too dark and try to get some rest for tomorrow. We won't have any luck finding her, Appa, or Momo in the dark."

We all knew Katara was right. About an hour later we'd made camp and had a small fire going that lit up the strange world around us. Odd creatures made their unfamiliar night time sounds, and I wondered if sleeping in this place was very safe. Eventually we all began to drift, but not until Katara pointed out we were being watched. After seeing the glowing eyes all around us I decided to just close my eyes and pretend they weren't there.

After an hour of sleeping however I suddenly felt something wrap around my ankle. Shooting my eyes open, I saw the others were still asleep around me. Going to scream for help as I felt something hard tug me away, I felt a vine wrap around my mouth to keep me from screaming. Then I was dragged away from the others, grunting as my body slid across the swamp floor and bumped up and down roughly. With wild hands I managed to reach for my knife at my waist and cut the vine from my mouth. Then I turned over on my back as I continued to slide through the swamp and chopped the other vine that had a hold of my ankle. As soon as the vine was cut I stopped sliding and fell back in the mud with exhaustion.

"What the Agni was that?" I muttered, and then managed to stand and brush mud off of my sore body. My knife was still clutched firmly in my hand and then I maneuvered my way to a tree and leaned against it gasping for breath. That scared me to death, whatever it was, and I clutched my knife hard searching the dark swamp for any sign that it would attack again.

My mind was wildly soaring with questions. Was the swamp alive after all? Had I just been attacked by vines? Had Amber been captured by the swamp? Were the others okay? Sighing, I decided standing here would do me no good. Turning, I began to walk through the swamp hoping I was headed back toward camp where everyone else was. Or where I hoped everyone else was.

After a few hours of pointlessly walking through a swamp of nothing but strange creatures and odd plants, I suddenly walked into a clearing of some sorts. It was like a grassy field surrounded by trees. In the middle of the field however stood a figure, just staring at me from where I stood.

To my surprise and astonishment, when I cautiously approached I saw it was my father. He was in his Fire Nation General uniform and his hair was done up in a top knot. He looked early thirties, and he looked exactly the same as he had on the last day I'd ever seen him; three weeks before he died. His brown eyes looked straight at me and I saw a frown pull on his lips as he narrowed his eyes at me.

"You fool, Kale! Why are you working with the enemy? Why are you betraying me?" His voice shot through me like a thousand knives and I felt pained.

"Dad..." I whispered.

He sneered. "You are not my son." Then he turned and began to walk away.

"No! Dad!" I cried, and then rushed forward reaching out to stop him. Just as I touched his shoulder I gasped when I saw all I was touching was a tree stump jutting up from the clearing. My eyes watered as I felt the bark below me. This wasn't real... Of course it wasn't real. My father died in battle... The swamp was just playing tricks on me.

Sighing, I took my hand from the stump and hung my head in defeat. My father was dead... He died almost ten years ago. My mind was just going crazy.

Turning, I left the clearing but my heart was still heavy with pain. If father were here now and he saw me traveling with the avatar and his friends, then what would my dad truly think? He'd probably say the same thing that this imaginary dad had said.

_"Why are you betraying me?"_

Smiling weakly, I knew why. Because no matter how much I cared about the fire nation, I knew this war was wrong. I was tired of seeing people die, of having families separated, and of having a leader who cared for nothing but power. Also the avatar and his friends weren't bad company one bit, and for once in all my sixteen years I actually felt like I belonged. Not to mention Amber was by my side which only made me ten times happier.

Amber... I really hoped she was okay. My hand touched the stone in my pocket that was warm in my hand. It had been warm for some time now, reassuring me that Amber was alive and somewhere in this swampy wilderness. Sighing, I took my hand from the stone and tightened my fists. Where could she be?

Just as I was about to continue walking I heard a piercing scream that I immediately recognized. Without a second thought, I ran toward the scream knowing fully well who the owner of it was.

_Amber... I'm coming._

**Amber POV**

My ankle was killing me as I tried to climb up the steep hill that was my only escape. Looking back down with terror I saw the reptilian beast was quickly coming out of the swampy water toward me. I'd just woken up about ten minutes ago, only to find from the light of the rising sun that I was in a sort of bowl. There was a dip somehow carved in the swamp forest I was in, a small stretch of water taking up most of the space. Somehow I'd ended up inside this bowl like area with no way out, surrounded by raised earth. I was trapped, and about to be catgator food.

Looking back at the reptile below me I could see a gator like body with cat whiskers trying to climb up the side of the hill I was hanging on. Using my only functioning ankle, I found a root on the side of the hill and used it to push up. The root snapped though and I held onto the vine I was clutching harder as I heard the beast hiss below me. After I'd woken up about ten minutes ago, I saw something swimming toward me in the water I'd fallen asleep beside. It was only till after it jumped out on land that I saw it was a catgator.

Another scream escaped me as I heard the beast try to scramble up the steep twenty foot hill to catch up to me. Great... Just great... I was going to die from being eaten by some weird swamp creature. My hand began to slip on the vine and I screamed again as my one good foot couldn't find anything to push up on.

Just as my hand slipped, I closed my eyes and got ready to fire at the beast when I hit the ground below. Something suddenly grabbed my hand hard as I lost the vine and started to fall. My body slammed against the side of the hill that felt more like the side of a mountain, and I winced at the impact. Then I looked up to see my savior.

Kale was hanging halfway off the edge of the cliff like hill holding onto my arm with all his might. My heart filled with joy as I saw his eyes meet my own. "Hang on! I've got you!" The catgator below growled in rage and tried to climb the side again to get to me. Kale was already pulling me up on level ground, and I used my one good foot to boost myself up the steep side onto flat surface.

Kale pulled me up all the way then, and we both fell on our backs equally exhausted. Tears of relief were falling down my cheeks as I closed my eyes hearing the catgator below snarl in defeat and splash back in the water. After managing to catch my breath, I tried to sit up only to find Kale was already helping me to sit up. As his arms supported me, I immediately wrapped my arms around him and cried into his shirt. He sighed and pulled me closer to him as I pressed my face into the fabric of his muddy clothing. He must've been through some ordeal as well.

As we both sat there for a moment, just embracing glad to see one another was alright, I heard Kale say softly, "I'm so glad you're safe."

Smiling weakly, I said, "I'm glad you are too."

As we continued to just hold one another, I winced at my throbbing ankle. Kale noticed my discomfort when my body tensed and he looked at me with question. "It's nothing," I promised. "I just tripped over something and twisted my ankle wrong."

He then helped me up letting me put an arm around his neck for support. He held my waist with his own arm to support me more, and then we both made our way through the swamp. Every step hurt, but my pain was dull as I looked at the ground below in deep thought.

Roku and Huo had planned everything from before I was even born. They'd planned out my whole life and it made me a bit angry. This whole time, I was separated from my family and Kale because of them. Those two spirits had forced me to the South Pole not caring how I'd feel when I got there. Had they planned for me to lose my memory too? If so it wouldn't have surprised me.

All I was was a tool to these spirits. Did they even care about all the pain I've been going through? Did they care at all about me, or did they just want to use me?

My feet stopped moving and I looked at the swamp floor beneath me with agony. Why did I feel so trapped in a plan I had no control over? Helping Aang restore balance to the world by defeating my father was a heavy burden to receive. How did Roku truly expect me to kill my own father? Though I hated my father, it didn't mean I wanted him dead.

"Amber... are you alright?" Kale asked, and suddenly I felt him turn me so I was looking up into his amazing brown orbs. He was worried, and I could tell by the furrowed brows and frown on his face.

Smiling weakly, I said, "I'm just really tired. Sorry for worrying you." Kale saw I didn't want to talk about it from the way I looked away from his gaze. Instead of trying to get answers, he didn't pry one bit, and a moment later we were walking once more through the swamp. As we did, I felt Kale watching me the whole time and I knew he was curious to know what really happened to me in this swampy world. He'd have to remain curious.

To tell the truth though, I wasn't really sure myself what had occurred. All I know is that by some strange force, I was taken back in time to before I was even born. It was almost as if I had finally gotten answers, but in some ways I wasn't really happy with the answers I received.

We walked- I mean Kale walked and I hobbled- for almost two more hours. We were both exhausted, but we knew we had to find the others and get out of this swamp as fast as we could. As we did walk, I looked over Kale who now looked as if he were deep in thought himself. This time I asked him what was wrong.

Kale looked at me with a weak smile. "It's nothing... I just thought I saw my dad earlier. It couldn't have been him though. My father died in battle ten years ago."

Sighing, I looked at the ground as we continued to make our way. "This swamps messing with all of our heads it seems..."

"What did you see?" Kale asked, curious to know what I meant by that.

At first I opened my mouth to tell him. This was Kale and I knew he'd be supportive no matter what I said. My mouth slammed shut though. There was no need to put all of this knew knowledge on Kale's shoulders. It was burden enough to me, so I didn't want to leave him with the burden as well.

Hanging my head to hide my guilt, I said softly, "Nothing... Just forget I said anything."

He sighed, but he didn't pry. He knew I'd talk when I was ready.

Eventually we made it to a sort of bayou that seemed to stretch about twenty feet wide. We didn't want to risk swimming through it, so we decided we could just walk along side it and hopefully it would lead us to somewhere. As we walked along the bayou I began to wonder if the others were okay. Kale had said that he'd been dragged away from them in the middle of the night so he had no clue where they could be. This only made me worried for their safety.

"Sokka was really worried about you... He was taking out his anger on the plants," Kale said, trying to lighten the mood.

I laughed. It felt really good to laugh. "I hope he didn't hurt them too bad."

"No... I just think he made them angry since they decided to drag me off in the middle of the night."

"This swamp seems to have a mind of its own," I said then, believing my own words.

Kale pulled me closer to him then, saying, "I know... I'm scared of what it's going to do next." Kale's arm around my waist made me blush a little, but I smiled and leaned into his side. For the first time in a while I felt safe. After a moment of silence, Kale asked, "How's the foot?"

My eyes looked away from his gaze. "Fine... Could be worse I guess."

"What happened to you after you fell anyway?" Kale asked. "You were like forty feet in the air. We were sure you would've been seriously hurt."

Hiding my face under my disheveled black hair I shrugged. "I don't know." Then I left it that. It was true though. I didn't know how I ended up in the past. I had no clue who had put me there, and I had no clue of how I was brought back. All I know was I saw something I probably wasn't supposed to see. Whoever showed it to me was probably not supposed to.

"Hey! Look!" Kale shouted, making me jump and look over at what Kale was pointing at. To my horror I saw Appa in a very large net that was tied to the back of a canoe. Momo was in a bag that was wildly moving beside a man dressed in just a bottom covering. There were two other canoes trailing on both sides of the sad looking bison, and I could tell the people on them were also half dressed. The one who had Momo beside him was singing a weird song.

"Momo! Appa!" I shouted, then ignored my ankle and took off toward the bayou.

"Amber!" Kale shouted, but I was already in the water. Diving in, I swam with all might toward Appa who was now groaning as if to tell me to save him. The river people noticed me coming, because they were immediately standing in their canoes prepared to fight. With the warrior moves I learned at the North Pole, I grabbed the side of one of the canoes and pushed my body upward. Landing inside the canoe, I immediately slammed my good foot into the swamp man who had Momo and he fell out of the canoe.

When I had the canoe to myself, I set to untying the bag Momo was in. A stream of water smashed into me though and I winced in pain as I fell on the side of the canoe rocking it hard. Did someone just bend water at me?

"Leave her alone!" Kale suddenly shouted, and I peeked over the canoe to see Kale had climbed into one of the others and was struggling with a skinny dude that was barely dressed.

Quickly I turned back to Momo and untied the bag where immediately a frantic lemur flew out and wrapped his stubby arms around my neck shaking like a leaf. Sighing, I pat his head to assure him it was okay. "Hey! That's our lemur!" A very deep voice cried, and I gasped when I saw the big fat guy I'd just kicked off the canoe climbing back in. Pulling Momo off my neck, I held him close to me with a glare.

"Your lemur?! This is my friend Momo!" I hissed. The swamp guy scowled and rushed forward. Ducking from his attempt at grabbing me, I looked over at Kale to see he was dodging a water whip from the guy he was fighting. Turning in shock, I saw the guy had turned and went to grab me again. "You guys are water benders?" I suddenly asked.

The swamp guy froze and now looked at me with question. "Yep... Why da ya ask?"

Momo hissed at him and climbed behind my back to hide. Smiling weakly, I said, "My sister's one actually."

The swamp man looked dumbfounded, then his eyes widened in realization. Turning to his swamp friend who was still struggling with Kale, he shouted, "Ya hear's that Due! They's got a water bender kin!"

Due stopped struggling with Kale and looked at his friend with a grin. "Really's! I's got one too, Tho!"

Kale and I shot each other a look of disbelief, and Kale circled his finger on the side of his head calling these swamp people crazy. It took all my power not to laugh.

"So, use gonna eat that lemur then?" Tho asked me suddenly.

My eyes widened. "What?! Of course I'm not going to eat the lemur! And I'm sure not letting you eat him!" Then I shoved past him and started to untie Appa's net from the canoe.

"Hey! He's be our food too!" Tho cried in confusion.

Glaring back at the man who was grabbing his hair in both anger and disbelief, I hissed, "He's my friend!" Then I just burned the rope freeing Appa who immediately flew up from the water causing the net to drop on the third canoe.

"Appa!" Aang suddenly cried, and I turned to see Aang, Katara, and Sokka standing on a log stretched like a bridge over the bayou watching the scene before them bewildered. With them was another swamp man, this one chubby and gray haired. Appa flew out of the bayou and landed on the ground groaning as if to shout _I'm free!_

"Hey guys!" Kale said, trying to keep the mood light as we drifted toward them. "Great timing. I think Amber's about to throw a few punches."

Aang, Katara, and Sokka looked utterly relieved to see I was alive and I smiled weakly at them. Momo chattered excitedly and flew from my back landing on Aang's shoulder who patted him with a smile. The guy with Kale casually said, "Hey Hue! How you been?"

Hue smiled. "You know... Scared some folks. Swung some vines. The usual."

Sokka looked at the guy named Hue with bewilderment and I saw him mouth with question, "Hue?"

Somehow we ended up pulling the canoes along the bayou shore and Kale immediately rushed over to help me hop out of the canoe. My ankle was ten times more bruised and swollen than before, and I had a really bad feeling Katara would scold me heavily for it. As Kale helped me hobble over to the others, I suddenly gasped when Aang threw his arms around my neck. "Thank you, Amber! I'm so glad you got to them in time." Momo chattered on his shoulder and licked me on the cheek in thanks.

"No problem," I said, smiling as I hugged Aang back. As soon as Aang let me go Katara and Sokka were there pulling me into a group hug.

Sokka pressed his face into my hair as he said, "I was so worried about you."

Sighing in my families hold, I thought in my head that I had no right to be mad at Roku and Huo. They brought me to Katara and Sokka, they showed me what a true family was... Sure I was torn away from my mom, Zuko, and my friends, but at least I was left in good hands. I guess in some ways I should be thinking Roku for doing this to me. At the same time though it angered me that he'd pretty much planned my whole destiny out without my control.

_That was never my intention... _Roku suddenly whispered in my head. _It was the only way to get you on the right side of this war._

Pushing Roku out of my mind, I just fell into Sokka and Katara's hold more, enjoying this familiar sense of home and comfort.

Later that night we were gathered around the campsite of the home where the swamp people lived. Katara was excited to hear water bending stories from these strange people, and while she did that Sokka questioned me about what happened. Eating my fish kabob with a sigh, I looked away from Sokka hoping he'd get the picture. He stared at me for a moment, but decided not to upset me and let it go. Instead he asked to see my ankle.

Rolling my eyes, I pulled my boot off so that my swollen ankle could be seen by the two boys sitting on either side of me. Kale winced at how bad it was while Sokka sighed probably used to me getting hurt. "Katara... We need your magic water over here."

Soon Katara was healing my foot, and for some reason the swamp people were excited to see what she was doing. They were pretty much gathered in a circle watching and I blushed beat red at the audience. "How did this happen?" Katara asked, her glowing water easing the pain almost instantly.

Frowning, I muttered, "I just tripped when an animal surprised me. No big deal." Her blue eyes met my own and I knew she could see immediately I was lying. This made me look away guilty that I wasn't being honest with my sister.

Katara eventually sighed and pulled away. "There... You had some damaged tissue but I repaired it. It will be sore for a few days so try not to do anything else crazy."

I knew her words were supposed to be a joke to lighten the mood, but they only made me frown more. Looking down in shame, I pulled my knees to my chest and pressed my face into my damp and muddy trousers. "Okay," I whispered.

Katara sighed, then left me going to talk to the swamp people again. When she was gone Sokka took her place beside me again. "Look... You don't have to tell us what happened Amber," he began. "But you know... we're all here for you if you do want to talk. You don't have to keep things bottled up inside."

Looking at my brother, I knew he was right but I didn't say anything. This was my burden to bear... If they knew everything I'd seen today, they'd just worry more.

The next morning we all loaded up on Appa and prepared to fly out of the crazy swamp. Katara, Sokka, and Aang all said their goodbyes to the swamp people while Kale helped me up Appa's saddle. When we all finally loaded onto the giant bison, I sighed and leaned against the saddle in thought. As we started to fly away from the swamp and strange annoying people I wondered who had shown me what I'd seen. Was it Roku? If so then why had Roku shown me something like that?

Looking up at the sky as we hit the air, I closed my eyes and just let the breeze hit me. Why was Roku answering my questions now, when before he wouldn't tell me anything? Scowling, I turned away from the others let my arms rest on the saddle so I could watch the distancing swamp below.

"Why..." I whispered. Pressing my face into my arms, I closed my eyes just wanting to go to another place. To go to another world...

**Third Person POV**

Roku furiously stormed through a wall of fire and into a golden temple filled with symbols of flames. The temple was glowing with fire of all colors lining it's four tall golden walls. In the center of the temple was a golden throne that was enveloped in flames where Huo sat twirling a small flame around his finger. He was seated with one leg up and the other hanging lazily over the thrones side. Now he wore black trousers and a fire red shirt that fit him loosely. If it weren't for the unnatural flames that surrounded him, he'd almost appear a normal twenty year old man. When he heard Roku enter he looked over with boredom.

_"Ah... Avatar Roku. What brings you to my humble abode? It's not every day you visit me in the spirit world."_

Roku tightened his fists in fury. _"You showed her! Why would you do that? My Great-granddaughter wasn't supposed to see any of that!"_

Huo sighed, extinguishing his flame and standing from his burning throne, then walked up to Roku with a smirk. _"Come now my friend... Don't be so mad. The girl deserved to know the truth, so I just simply showed her."_

This didn't make the white haired spirit any happier. _"You may have just cost me her trust. I tried so hard to watch over her and make sure everything went according to plan, and now you show her that I'm the one that took her from her family! Are you trying to make my job harder."_

The spirit of fire rolled his eyes. _"Oh chill out... You're starting to actually sound like an old man Roku."_ Roku glaredbut Huo continued as if he didn't even see him._ "The girl will trust you just fine. At least now she understands why she was given these powers. She was making me feel bad anyway, constantly asking questions and never getting answers. It was making me feel bad. Now that she understands her destiny, we can all relax and let fate take its own course."_

Roku sighed, calming now as he finally cooled his anger. _"Still," _Roku managed to say. _"You should've told me before you did."_

Huo frowned. _"But if I had you would've stopped me. Last time I checked, Amber technically belongs to me. I can do with her as I please. For instance..." _Huo smiled and stepped right in front of Roku with fire in his golden orbs. _"If I wanted to I could rip that girl's spirit right out of her and make her my servant forever." _Roku stared at Huo in horror. _"But I won't... because I'm actually very curious to see how all of this plays out."_

Huo turned and walked back toward his throne, but he stopped and turned his face to the side to look at Roku once more. _"Protect her all you want Roku... But I think the girl deserves a little freedom every now and then. I mean it technically was your fault she ended up in the hands of Zhao anyway, so you're not at all the perfect protector she needs. Stop controlling my young flame, or else you'll one day get burned, and it won't be by me."_

Roku narrowed his eyes as the spirit of fire walked back to his throne and plopped back in his seat. Huo smirked as he stared at the angered avatar. _"Keep your distance Roku... It's only fair you give her space after everything you've done to her."_

With that Avatar Roku turned and began to walk out the temple. As he got to the wall of fire, he hissed, _"Keep your hands off my Great-granddaughter." _Then Roku stepped through the fire leaving a wall of flames behind.

With a chuckle, Huo crossed his arms and grinned at the spot where Roku use to be. _"You should've thought about that when you allowed me to place life inside her. Now your great granddaughter belongs to me, old friend. She will always be my own beautiful flame."_

* * *

**A/N: So there's the next chapter for you guys. I didn't stick much to the swamp episode but that's because I kind of figured Amber needed her own swamp experience. Also this episode wasn't really one of my favorites so I decided to add my own twist. Hope you liked it and I'm glad I finally got to create Huo's character. That was fun. Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon. Thanks so much for the reviews and fave's everyone. ;)**


	5. Angry Rhinos

**So I know it's been a while... and by a while I mean a month... I just had serious writers block and kept rewriting this chapter over and over again. Finally I found what I wanted to do, and I wished it had come to me sooner. I'm really sorry for how long it took me, and I hope you guys aren't furious with me. To make it up though I'm posting two chapters. This one, and then another which you guys hopefully will enjoy. Thank you for the reviews and thank you for sticking with me. **

**-I only own Amber and Kale**

* * *

"Just tell me!" Katara snapped, suddenly grabbing my arm as I tried to walk around her. It had been a day since we'd left the swamp, and now we were resting in a forest right outside of some village named Chin. Over the last twenty four hours I hadn't told anyone squat about my experience in the swamp. What was I supposed to tell them?

_"Okay... Well while I was at the swamp I somehow went back in time where I met some weird spirit named Huo who granted me life and pretty much admitted to Roku being the one who took me from my Fire Nation family. That's it. No big deal."_

Yeah right... There was no way I'd tell them that. They'd only worry about me more. Yanking from Katara's hand, I snapped, "I have nothing to say! All you need to know is that I made it out alive. Stop pushing on the matter!"

Katara intercepted my path quickly as I tried to walk into the forest so I could be alone. Stopping, I internally groaned as Katara narrowed her eyes at me. "You can't have nothing to say! You look like you're keeping something bottled up inside you. We all can see it!"

Crossing my arms, I looked away as I lied, "I'm not keeping anything to myself."

She sighed, then crossed her own arms and muttered, "Fine... Whatever you say Amber." Turning, she walked off but I knew she wasn't done yet. Katara was persistent, so I had a feeling she'd be back soon. Watching her head back to the others, I saw Kale and Sokka were still sound asleep while Aang was practicing water bending.

Frowning, I turned and headed into the forest just so I could clear my head. As I walked my mind went wild with questions. Was it Roku who showed me the past? If so then why now and not before? Stopping in my step, I lit a flame and stared at the purple fire that seemed to dance at my fingertips. What would've happened if Huo hadn't saved me? Would I have died at birth? And if I had lived, would I have been hated so much by my father? Was this gift of life from Huo more of a curse than a blessing?

Extinguishing the flame in my hand, I sighed and looked up at the tree tops above. "If you're really here to control my life Roku, then at least have the courtesy to talk to me."

A moment of awkward silence passed, and I waited for Roku to talk to me. He owed me answers. He wouldn't talk to me though, and this made me mad. Originally I was the one avoiding him, but now he was avoiding me. It was really annoying.

Plopping down on a fallen log, I scowled and stared at the ground annoyed. This was so frustrating. My mind was constantly racing with unanswered questions and it always gave me a headache. Right now, I felt as lost as I had nine years ago. At the thought I allowed my mind to take me back to the day... The day I woke up with no memory of who I was.

_The only thing I knew when I woke up was that my head was killing me. A sharp pain shot through my skull and I felt like it was cracked in two. Whimpering in agony, I opened my eyes a bit only to shut them quickly when light shot through and made my head ten times worse._

_"Mommy! She's awake!" A young boy cried. How I knew it was a boy was because my mind told me it was. There were words that shot through my head, and though I registered some and understood, there were many that were hard for me to comprehend. For instance 'Mommy'... the word was familiar to me, but I did not know what it meant._

_Slowly I opened my eyes this time, and finally my blurry vision began to clear allowing me to see my surroundings. It appeared I was in a strange dome... the color maybe white... I couldn't really remember the word. Looking around the room, I saw a boy sitting beside me. It was a boy right?_

_This boy had wide blue eyes (at least I think it's blue) as he stared at me with amazement. "Hi," he said, smiling at me with... what was the word... kindness? When he said hi I tried to remember what that word meant. Hi... You said it when you saw someone right._

_Weakly, I whispered, "Hi."_

_He curled his lips up to show he was happy I'd answered. Then he cried, "Mom! She talked!"_

_"Quiet down Sokka... Let's try not to scare the poor child," a kind woman spoke. My eyes shot around what my mind called an igloo till they landed on a really pretty lady in... Um... blue... no white... no it was blue... In blue clothes. She had long hair that passed her shoulders and her eyes were deep blue matching her clothes. She came over and knelt beside me. "It's alright sweetie... You're safe here."_

_My mind tried to register what she was saying. "Safe?" I asked, but immediately I began to cough. My throat hurt. I think it was because I was... thirsty. As if reading my scrambled mind, the woman held a wooden cup up to my lips and helped me sit up as I drink the cool liquid inside. When I finished the cup I immediately felt better. The woman helped me lie back and I sighed as she pulled something warm tighter around me._

_"My names Kya... My husband Hakoda found you and brought you back here. You hit your head pretty hard but we were able to patch it up. You've been out for two days I believe. You must be hungry."_

_My stomach growled hard and I blushed though I wasn't sure why. What did my stomach growling mean?_

_Kya got up and left, and soon the boy from earlier sat beside me again. "My name's Sokka. What's your name?"_

_Name…? My head ached as I tried to figure out what that word meant. What was a name? Looking at this boy Sokka, I realized that was his name. Sokka... If that was his name then what was mine. Did I even have a name?_

_My mind searched hard for anything that could've been a name. At one point I stumbled upon amber but then my brain told me that was a color or some type of stone. As I tried to search more and more for anything that could be my name, I eventually gave up. Maybe I had no name. At the thought I felt something fill inside me... fear?_

_Tears filled my eyes and I felt a noise escape me as sobs began to escape me. Sokka looked worried and not sure what to do as I continued to cry... It was crying... Yeah, that's what I was doing._

_"Sokka! What happened?" Kya suddenly asked, back with a plate of... Fish?_

_Sokka looked confused as he said, "I don't know... I just asked what her name was... She started crying."_

_Kya told Sokka to go find his sister and play, and then when he was gone she took his place again beside me. My body was still convulsing in tears as I stared into this woman's kind blue eyes. "What's wrong...? Do you not know your name?"_

_More tears filled my eyes and I broke into more sobs as my brain could still not find anything that was my name. Shaking my head I pulled the warm blue thing over my head to hide my tears... embarrassed? Why couldn't I remember anything? Was there anything to remember?_

_The warm thing my brain now told me was a blanket was pulled back to reveal my face again. Kya looked at me with almost... sympathy. "It's okay sweetie... You hit your head pretty hard. You might have amnesia."_

_"Amnesia?" I whispered._

_She smiled kindly. "Yes... It's when you forget something. Usually it all comes back though soon," she promised, and I felt her hand brush against my cheek wiping away the drying tears._

_Looking at this woman, I said softly, "I want a name... I don't have one."_

_She sighed and said, "Even if I give you a name, you'll remember your true one soon I'm sure."_

_Suddenly I sat up and threw my arms around the woman's waist crying out, "Please! I want a name!"_

_Kya sighed, and then she wrapped her arms around me pulling me in a warm hug. "Okay sweetie... If you want one that terribly... Then how about... Kaya?"_

_Kaya... That's my name now. My brain told me my name was Kaya. All of my confusion seemed to fade as I took in my new name. I felt ten times better now that I had something to call myself; something to help take the fear and loss away from me. Smiling now, I looked up at the woman with tears falling from my eyes. "My name's Kaya!"_

_She smiled weakly. "Yes. At least for now until you remember."_

_What was the word I wanted to say so terribly? My mind pondered it over for a moment until finally I found it. "Thank you! Thank you!" My heart felt like it was no longer heavy with fear of the unknown. Now I felt like everything was becoming clear. I felt peace fill me at the thought of having a name._

_My name…_

My mind brought me back to present and I looked down at my water tribe bracelet with a frown. "Guess mom was right..." What was Kaya to me now? Just a temporary name given to me until my memories finally returned? Did Roku plan this... for me to be given another name... another life... only to have it be destroyed nine years later?

If Zuko had never come, could I have just kept on living as Kaya and continued to hide away from the world?

No... Roku would have found some way to make me remember. That was his plan after all anyway_; _to get me away from my true family some how so I could work for Huo and him... So they could use me to betray my family so I could stop their evil and violent ways.

Or... Maybe Roku hadn't planned on me getting my memories back at all. Maybe his original idea was to just have me work along side Aang as a girl with no idea she was betraying her family; as a girl named Kaya with no past but the life she lived at the South Pole. Maybe Roku's plan all along had actually failed. It wouldn't surprise me... Roku seemed to only care about ending this war. He probably only saw me as a tool, so he didn't care how much any of this impacted me.

I'd always been a tool to Roku... All this time he just wanted to use me as a weapon. Was that his intention from the start? He asked Huo to grant me life just so he could use me as Aang's helper to kill my father.

'If you want to deny any of this Roku, then now is your chance,' my mind shouted again. Still there was no response from the one who was supposed to be my protector and friend.

Sighing, I stood and decided to head back to camp before someone came frantically looking for me. Also I wanted to just get my mind off of Roku. As I started to walk away from the fallen log I froze when I suddenly heard a twig snap behind me. Don't tell me I'm in danger again. If so I would officially nick name myself _the danger magnet. _Tightening my fist, I turned swiftly to see who had made the noise but only saw the forest. Maybe I was getting too paranoid lately with all this spirit stuff.

As I began to turn again, I cried out when suddenly a hard hand grabbed my shoulder and shoved me to the ground. His body was heavy as he pressed me to the forest floor and I felt him tie a gag around my mouth to keep me from screaming. "Hello Princess... You wouldn't happen to know where the avatar is, would you?" A cold voice hissed.

My eyes widened as I was yanked from the ground and rope was tied around my wrists behind my back. When I was restrained, I was turned and shoved against a tree wincing from the pain. "You both have a high reward on your heads, and it will be mine if I bring you to the Fire Lord," the man said, and finally I was able to see him clearly.

He was maybe in his late thirties, with a shaved head that was bald apart from one small topknot with feathers coming out. He had gold hoop earrings in both ears and wore a fire nation uniform he'd clearly altered. There were no sleeves on this uniform, and the wrist cuffs he wore had spikes on them. Behind him stood a huge Rough Rhino which made me tremble at the sight of such a huge beast.

"Colonel Mongke! We found the others! Do you want us to round them up?" A guy shouted suddenly, and I turned to see a man with darker skin and long black braided hair ride over with his own rhino. He held in his hand a bolo- a rope with weights at both ends to wrap around those he wanted to catch. He was wearing part of a fire nation engineers uniform, though all that was left of it was the bottom and a piece of metal on his right shoulder. He smirked when he saw me looking at him.

"Stay here with the girl, Ogodei!" Colonel Mongke ordered, then he turned and forced me on the ground so I was sitting against the tree. As he hopped onto his rhino, I tried hard not to smile under my gag. How stupid was this guy? Did he not realize I could just fire bend out of my ropes?

The one left to babysit me, Ogodei, scowled and stomped over to me annoyed. As he came toward me I'd already managed to burn the rope off my wrist but I made no move to show I was free yet. Ogodei grabbed my hair suddenly forcing me to look into his dark brown eyes. "You're now Rough Rhino's property... I can't wait to get that reward money," he hissed.

Scowling, I lit a flame behind my back ready to attack. Before I could though his hard fist connected with my jaw and I cried out through my gag as I fell sideways on the forest floor. "How stupid do you think I am?" he hissed, then I whimpered when he kicked me hard in my side. The pain didn't really affect me though. I'd been through worse. "I've been waiting for this chance for so long. To finally be honored for all my work. I'm not letting you escape so I can lose this chance."

"You know what honor got my brother... A bounty on his head," I hissed after I managed to yank my gag off.

Without taking another moment of hesitation, I quickly flipped over on my back and kicked my leg up at the guy hitting him in the place it hurts. He howled in pain and fell back, so I took that as my chance. Rolling over I hopped to my feet and took off running. Just as I reached a tree I could use for cover, I felt something hard wrap around my legs that sent me falling to the ground with a painful thud only making my pulsing side protest.

"Nice try princess... But you're not escaping me," he hissed, coming over to where I was struggling on the ground trying to get my legs free. Trying to burn the rope, I gasped in pain when Ogodei suddenly kicked me in the stomach. "I'll beat you to a pulp you freak!"

"Get away from her!" A voice hissed, and my eyes widened in amazement when I saw Kale smash into the guy who probably was strong enough to lift him and throw him a good three yards. Kale had the upper hand though as he held a sword to Ogodei's throat. He pulled a knife from his pocket and tossed it beside me as he continued to stare into the Rough Rhino guys outraged eyes. "Cut yourself free." He didn't even have to tell me, because I was already cutting the rope from my legs. Adrenaline was pumping through me.

Standing when the rope was off, I rushed over to Kale who still held the sword to the mans throat. "Come on! Let's get out of here," I said. Kale stood from the wide eyed man and then turned grabbing my arm and pulling me through the forest. My side was still pulsing from being kicked by a steel boot but I stopped crying over that kind of pain a long time ago.

"The others... Are they okay?" I asked.

"I don't know," Kale said. "Sokka sent me to look for you. I haven't seen them since." That made me a bit worried. If the Rough Rhinos got to them already, they could all be imprisoned. Just as we were about to run into the clearing where we'd made camp, Appa was just taking off with everyone so they could get away from the rhinos. As they disappeared overhead, Kale and I looked at one another with terror. We were in trouble big time.

Turning we both tried to run from the group of fire nation bounty hunters, but the one from before was in our path again on his rhino and he didn't look happy. He gritted his teeth as he clutched his neck where a small cut was. "You'll pay for that boy!"

Kale smirked. "What's wrong? A Fire Nation soldier can't take one little cut? And they say the Fire Nation is tough... Ha! You're all babies." My eyes widened. Why was Kale taunting this dude? Was he trying to get us both killed?

The guy growled. "That's it!" Jumping off his rhino, he growled and charged for us. Kale pulled us out of the way just in time and immediately pushed me over to the giant rhino. "Get on!" Kale shouted, and I was given a boost onto the bored looking animals saddle. Holding my hand down, I grabbed his hand and lifted him onto the saddle just as Ogodei was back to grab him.

Kale immediately took the reins and flicked them sending the rhino charging forward. A scream escaped me at the sudden jerk and I grabbed onto Kale's waist to keep from falling. "How do you know how to control this thing?" I shouted, just as we started to run through the forest and lose sight of a very enraged man.

Kale laughed and flicked the reins again making the rhino speed up. "My brother taught me before he went to war! He snuck me into his training camp a few years ago and let me ride one."

My eyes widened at his words and I felt totally amazed. Kale had an older brother? Why hadn't he told me?

"There they are!" A voice shouted, and we both turned our heads to see the other four rhinos were gaining on us. As we took a few more sharp turns to try and get away from the four men who probably wanted our heads, I looked back to see we'd lost sight of them. Maybe we'd escaped? Just as I thought that we reached the cliffs where the forest ended and a fifty foot drop stretched toward the ocean below. Kale yanked on the rhino's reins, stopping the beast from falling.

We both sighed in relief when we saw we hadn't fallen to our deaths. The rhino groaned as if telling us to let it go back into the forest. Kale and I decided it was time to leave the rhino and run. Sliding off the giant beast, we both took off down the cliff side hoping maybe they'd lose us and stop chasing us. To our horror though two rhinos pulled out of the woods in front of us, and when we turned to run the opposite direction, the other two were in our paths. We were surrounded.

"Nowhere to run now princess," Colonel Mongke said, smirking when he saw Kale and I back up to the very edge of the cliffs. Looking down at the water below, I estimated what the possibility of survival was. On one side it was water so it would lessen the impact, but on the negative side there could be rocks right below that water. "You and your friend are ours now."

My heart began to accelerate at the idea of being prisoner to these angry men. Kale looked behind us, probably wondering if we'd survive just like I had. My hands tightened into fists as I prepared to fight. I knew we had no chance of escaping all of these Fire Nation dudes but I'd still fight and try. "Sorry gents, but it seems you won't be capturing us today," Kale suddenly said. His words surprised me and I looked at him in question.

Then out of nowhere Appa flew up behind us and Kale grabbed onto my waist. My eyes watched in the split second as Sokka threw a rope to Kale who caught it easily. He held on tightly as the rope pulled up and caused us to jerk up from the ground. As my body lost the earth, I wrapped my arms around Kale tightly terrified of falling into the sea below. He held me up easily as if I weighed nothing, and a moment later we were being pulled up onto Appa's saddle by the others.

"NO!" Colonel Mongke shouted. "I'll get you Princess! You and that avatar!"

Looking back at the shrinking Rough Rhino's, I sighed in relief. That was a close one.

As the rope lifted us close enough to the side of the saddle, I immediately took Katara's hand who quickly pulled me onto the saddle and into safety. Sokka helped Kale in, and when we were all safe Kale and I tried to catch our breath. "Great timing," I gasped out.

Kale laughed at my words through his labored breaths. "Yeah... We definitely owe you guys..."

Sokka muttered something about his boomerang and I heard Katara say, "Suck it up!"

Eventually Kale and I collected ourselves, and I managed to sit up with utter relief. Thank goodness we hadn't been captured.

"Are you guys okay?" Aang asked, looking back from where he held the reins on Appa.

Kale smiled. "Yeah... Thanks to you guys."

"What were you doing anyway Amber? Katara said you just ran into the woods," Sokka said.

Sighing, I pulled my knees to my chest. "Sorry... I just had a lot on my mind."

Katara looked at me with question. "You sure you don't want to talk about anything?"

Shaking my head, I pulled my knees closer to myself and pressed my face into them. Closing my eyes, I tried to block out everything and just go into a place of solitude.

"So what happened with you guys?" Kale asked them.

Sokka answered. "Those rhino dudes came out of nowhere and tried to capture us, but we escaped. Katara and Aang got to save their staff and scroll, but I lost my boomerang!"

"Quit about the boomerang Sokka... I'm sure we'll find you a new one," Katara snapped.

"Sure Katara! Get me a new boomerang, but no boomerang will ever replace that one! How would you feel if you lost your necklace again? Well that's how I feel right now! That boomerang was given to me by father!"

Sighing, I lifted my head and looked at Sokka who seemed torn that he lost his boomerang. "Then we'll find a way to get it back," I reassured. Sokka seemed ready to argue again, but when he met my eyes he sighed and nodded.

We eventually landed again outside a village known as Chin. When we entered the village Katara and I went straight to a vendor in earth kingdom clothing. The shop guy put together a basket of fruit and vegetables so we'd have food for the road. Katara pulled money out of her trouser pocket and handed it to him.

"Hey, water tribe money!" the man said excitedly.

Katara turned worried. "I hope that's okay."

He smiled and handed the basket to her. "So long as it's money." He then closed his shop and started to walk away. "Happy Avatar Day!"

Avatar day? Katara and I shot one another a look of amazement.

"Avatar day?" Aang asked, now curious about the holiday made for him. Aang was wearing a funny looking hat so his identity was sealed.

The man turned and looked at us curiously. "You guys are going to the festival right?"

Aang immediately turned to Sokka who I guessed was now our leader with pleading eyes. Sokka immediately shook his head. "No way... we have no time for some festival!"

"But it's avatar day! I can't pass this up Sokka!" Aang practically whined. The store owner had shrugged by now and walked off to go on with his own business.

"Maybe we'll find an earth bender in the village... It is an Earth Kingdom colony," Kale said, crossing his arms and looking down what I admit was a pretty empty street. Guess everyone was at the festival.

Katara smiled at Kale's words. "Great idea! This is a village we haven't stopped at yet. Maybe Aang's future teacher is here."

Sokka groaned. "You guys! We're running out of time every minute we waste. I know you guys really only want to go to the festival for fun. You have no intention of finding an earth bending teacher there."

Against Sokka's protest we ended up going to the festival after all. As we walked into the crowded town square I tried to hide my eyes from everyone. If they saw I was fire nation they'd probably imprison me and do who knows what to me.

"Wow! Look at that!" Aang exclaimed as a giant Avatar Kyoshi float was dragged into the square. It was made out of straw and a good twenty feet high. We all watched with amazement as it was pulled by us into the middle of the area.

"And here comes Avatar Roku!" Katara exclaimed. At the name I cringed and crossed my arms not really wanting to watch the float go by. A statue in memory of Avatar Roku was the last thing I wanted to see. When I looked up again I saw Aang shooting me a questioning look, but I turned my gaze the other way.

Finally the last float was dragged into the area between Avatar Roku and Kyoshi. A giant Aang towered over everyone, and I saw Aang's eyes go wide as he saw the statue honoring him. "That's the biggest me I've ever seen!" he exclaimed.

Rolling my eyes, I stared down the street trying hard to still avoid the Roku statue. When I did I noticed a man running past people with a torch in his hand. His eyes reflected from the fire as he ran up to one of the statues. It was when I saw his expression that I understood. These people were not friends to the avatars. They hated them.

"Now a torch; that's a nice prop. It's bright, dangerous, smells manly. But I'm not sure I could carry it off," Sokka said.

"Hey... What's that guy doing?" Katara asked.

Just as she started her sentence I was rushing forward through the crowd pushing past everyone. When I got to the front I held my hand out and concentrated on the flame burning from the torch. The man just threw it at the statue of Kyoshi, but I managed to extinguish the fire before it hit the straw. The crowd gasped as they realized their flaming festivities were foiled.

"What happened?" Someone shouted from the crowd.

Another person shouted, "We want to see some burning avatars right now!"

Scowling, I crossed my arms annoyed by these people. As much as I was mad at Roku right now, I didn't find it right to burn his statue and show hate toward him. Though he was a jerk, he'd done a lot of good during his lifetime, and he was my Great grandfather. Kyoshi didn't deserve to burn either, though I'd never actually met her.

"Hey! Who's the party pooper!" Someone shouted with annoyance.

Aang flew through the air suddenly and landed on his own statues shoulder. Everyone looked up at him with surprise. "That party pooper is my friend!"

A man who looked mid forty with graying brown hair, a weird mustache, and a nasally voice, cried, "It's the avatar himself!"

Another person shouted, "It's going to kill us with it's awesome avatar powers!"

The crowd breaks into chaos then and I sigh shaking my head in disbelief. This village was crazier than the swamp.

"I suggest you leave! You're not welcome here avatar!" the guy I learned was the mayor said.

Scowling, I stomped forward and got between Aang and the snooty man. "Look! You have absolutely no right to treat Aang like that! So what if he's the avatar... He's still just a kid!"

The man stared at me now with horror, and I realized my mistake. My gold eyes were visible screaming to this man that I was the enemy. "You! You're that Fire Nation Princess! Men, arrest her!" At first I didn't understand who he was talking to, but then I gasped when strong hands grabbed both my arms and yanked me away from Aang and the mayor dude.

"Hey!" Aang shouted. "Let her go!"

The mayor scowled, "No! This girl is an enemy and therefore a threat to this village. It's better she rot in a cell until we know what to do with her." Then the men began to cart me away.

"Amber!" Kale cried out in fury and deep worry. He rushed forward but I saw Katara grab him to stop him from getting imprisoned too.

Captured again... This was starting to get annoying.

The two buff men who had now tied my hands behind me with metal cuffs, walked me down the empty streets of the village to a big stone building I assumed was like the mayor's building or something. Shoving me past the front door, they carted me around the building into another room apart from the main place. In this room were some chairs I assumed the guards sat on, and the whole wall in front of us was a prison cell with bars and a lock. Shoving me inside, I turned and watched as they locked the latch behind leaving me alone in my cell.

Looking around the cell, I saw stone walls surrounded it, and above I could see the sky. Did they not realize I could probably shoot myself over the wall with fire? Sighing I melted the cuffs around my wrist and heard them clunk to the ground when they were off. Then I walked over to the wall of the prison and plopped down on the ground. Today I wasn't really in the mood to try and escape. Those rough rhino men earlier really wore me out, not to mention my side was still pulsing in pain from where that man kicked me.

A few minutes passed when suddenly I heard the gate door swing open and looked over to see Aang get shoved in. His hands and head were restrained in a wooden thing with holes for each, and he looked more uncomfortable than I originally was with just the cuffs.

Standing, I walked over to him and he looked at me with relief. "Amber... Thank goodness they threw us in the same cell!"

"Don't be celebrating!" Katara snapped, and I turned to see her, Kale, and Sokka standing on the other side of our prison. "You two are in jail! This isn't something to be happy about!"

Sokka crossed his arms. "Why'd you offer to pay bail?"

Aang snapped back. "How was I supposed to know they don't take water tribe money?"

My eyes widened. "They didn't even offer me bail!"

Kale smirked, "Maybe because they saw you as more of a threat."

"Why was Aang imprisoned anyway?" I asked.

"They claim I murdered their leader," Aang answered.

Groaning, I leaned against the wall connected to the cell door and shook my head in disbelief. These people were crazier than the swamp men.

"Come on... Let's bust you two out of here," Sokka said, trying to pull on the locked door.

Aang held his head. "I can't."

We all looked at him amazed. "Sure you can," Sokka exclaimed. "A little swish, swish, swish! Air Bending Slice! Amber melts the bars! And we're on our way!"

Katara interjected. "I think what "Master Swish" is trying to say is that you're supposed to be out saving the world Aang. You can't do that locked up in here."

Aang responded, "I can't do that with people thinking I'm a murderer either. I need you guys to help prove my innocence."

Kale crossed his arms. "And how do we do that? The only person who can prove your innocence is Avatar Kyoshi, and she died over three hundred years ago."

Smirking, Aang leaned forward. "Well I always thought Sokka was an expert detective."

This made Sokka beam with joy that Aang complimented him. "Well I guess I could be classified as such." Rolling my eyes, I watched as Sokka pulled a strange blue hat out of nowhere with a magnifying glass connected to it. Katara and Kale burst into laughter at him while I slapped my forehead in disbelief.

"Alright! Ready to solve the crime!" Sokka cried, then grabbed Katara pulling her out of the room.

Kale stayed behind and approached me from where I stood behind the bars. "You gonna be okay?" he asked.

Shrugging, I smiled, "Don't worry. This is nothing. I've been through things a hundred times worse."

He frowned at this and winced, "Don't remind me."

Silence passed for a moment, till suddenly something came to my mind. "Hey Kale... Why didn't you tell me you have a brother?"

He was surprised by my question, and he smiled weakly. "I'll tell you later when all of this is over." Then he leaned forward, kissed me on the lips through the bars, and turned running to catch back up to the others.

"Kale has a brother?" Aang asked.

Looking back at him, I shrugged and stared up at the clouds passing above. "I guess so."

Time passed and I'd managed to take the uncomfortable restraints off of Aang. We noticed there were other prisoners in the cell with us, but we stayed away from them not sure why they were in the cell. Now we sat beside each other against the stone wall watching as shadows came and went from the clouds continuously passing by. As we sat, I pulled my knees close to my chest in thought. If Kyoshi really did murder the man Chin, then what did that say about all the avatars? Did it only prove my point that just like avatar Roku, the other avatar's didn't care about anyone but themselves?

"Amber... You okay?" Aang asked. His voice surprised me seeing as none of us had spoken for the last two hours. Looking over at him, I saw that same questioning look from before. "You've been acting strange ever since we found you in the swamp."

Frowning, I pulled my knees tighter to my chest. Aang was the one person I knew could keep secrets. Truthfully I wanted to get it off my chest more than anything. "If I told you then would you promise not to tell anyone... I don't want them worrying?"

Aang seemed to hesitate, but he nodded.

Sighing, I closed my eyes as everything I saw at the swamp flooded back to me. "At the swamp I saw my mom... I saw my mom when she was pregnant with me."

He seemed surprised at the second part. "What? How?"

Frowning more, I said, "At first I thought it was Roku who showed me, but then I decided it wouldn't have been him. I think Huo showed me, though I'm not really sure why. All I know is what I saw, I probably wasn't supposed to see."

"What happened?" he asked.

"My mom was pregnant with me, but I was dying inside her. She had to make a choice that Roku gave to her. He promised I'd live, but he told her that if she accepted then he could not tell her what would happen to me in the future. Of course my mom accepted his offer of help, and that's when the spirit of fire appeared."

Aang was listening intently now, surprised when I told him what Huo looked like and how scared I felt when I saw him. "He began to talk to Roku who was still in the room. As they spoke Roku revealed some things. He said that he would make sure in the future I was taken from my birth family and placed somehow on the other side of this war. He's the reason my father hated me, because he made my mom tell dad that I was half spirit. If mom had never told father, he wouldn't have treated me like the scum of the earth. Roku's been influencing my life every step of the way... because of him I was taken from Kale, from my brother, and from my mom. He put me in the hands of that vile man Zhao. The scars on my body are all because Roku wouldn't let me choose!" By the last part I was crying, my face pressed hard on my knees.

Aang stayed silent, and I knew it was because he didn't know what to say. When I managed to collect myself after five minutes, I pulled from my soaked trousers and rubbed my swollen eyes. Aang spoke when he saw I'd calmed down. "I'm sure Roku never meant for any of that to happen, Amber. After knowing Roku for a while, I know he never would've planned for you to be placed in the hands of Zhao. That was all your fathers doing... He probably had wanted your dad to send you away, but he never imagined your father would try to have you drowned in the ocean. Did you ask Roku?"

Sighing, I looked down in agony. "He won't talk to me. I've been trying to speak to him for the last two days. I think he's avoiding me."

He nodded, sitting cross legged as he thought over what I spoke. "Maybe he's scared that you hate him. If Avatar Roku really is your Great-grandfather, then maybe he blames himself for all the pain he's caused you and it hurts him to see you hurting. You blaming him probably makes it ten times worse."

Sighing, I leaned back against the wall as a headache began. "I'm not trying to blame him... I guess I'm just mad the most of the idea that he caused everything. Then again, I guess Huo has more of the blame seeing as he's the one who even granted me all of this life in the first place... Maybe I should've just died when I was born. It saves me from all of this crap I've been dealing with."

Aang smacked me on the back of the head, and I gasped looking at him in surprise. "Don't say that!" Aang snapped. "You shouldn't think that way Amber. Every life is precious, even yours. So what if Roku took you away from the fire nation! At least you found the water tribe and got a new family! And you met me! Is that not worth living?"

His words were like a slap in my face as I realized he was right. Rubbing my head where he had knocked some sense into me, I felt ashamed. "I- I guess I'm being really stupid right now... I'm sorry Aang. You're right. I was wrong to say I was better off dead, and I'm wrong to be mad at Roku. I guess I've been paying more attention to the negatives when I should be looking at the positives... If Roku hadn't done what he did, I would've been raised as a Fire Nation princess, my friendship with kale would've eventually been stopped, and I would've never met Katara, Sokka, or you. I'm being so selfish..."

"No you're not..." Aang said. "You're just hurt... I kind of know how you feel. This whole avatar thing wasn't something I ever wanted. It was thrown at me and I was never given a choice just like you. At first I was angry with the spirits for choosing me, and that's why I ran away and got stuck in that ice berg. But when I got out, and saw all the good I was doing for this world, I couldn't be mad at the spirits anymore because I knew what I was doing was the right thing. You'll learn that soon too I'm sure."

Nodding, I watched as Aang left me to go speak to the other prisoners. Sighing, I leaned back once more and closed my eyes feeling the breeze hit my face. Aang was right... No matter how much I was mad at Roku and Huo, I was doing the right thing.

_"Sorry Roku..." _ I thought in my head. Then I closed my eyes and let the breeze drift me to sleep. As I sunk into oblivion, I heard Roku whisper, _"No... I'm sorry..."_

When I woke up later it was because Aang was shaking my shoulder roughly. "Amber! The others are back!"

Waking with surprise, I saw it was morning and Aang was pointing at the cell door. Looking over I saw Kale, Katara, Sokka, and the mayor standing at the door. Getting up I followed Aang over and we listened to what they had to say.

"Honorable Mayor, we've prepared a solid defense for the avatar. We did an investigation and found some very strong evidence," Katara said.

The mayor scowled. "Evidence! Hmph! That's not how our court system works."

"Then how can Aang prove his innocence?" Kale asked, and I could tell he was starting to get ticked off by this man.

The mayor crossed his arms. "Simple. I say what happened, and then you say what happened, and then I decide who's right."

Scowling I felt my hands heat up as I grabbed the cell door. "That's stupid! There's no justice in that!"

He smirked. "That's why we call it justice. Because it's just us. Ha ha ha!"

Growling, my hands burst into flame suddenly and the bars I held onto began to melt. "Amber!" Kale shouted, and at once I pulled away in shock.

The mayor stared at the liquified bars with both terror and fury. "Those bars cost this village a fortune!" The bars that melted were just two, and they'd only melted where my hands were clutching them. Somehow the mayors words gave me satisfaction.

Aang was taken out of the prison then, but I was forced to stay. "Where's my trial?" I scowled, watching as the mayor carted Aang and the others away.

He spat back, "You don't get one!" He then turned and left, causing me to scowl in more rage. Then a thought struck me. Why stick around in this crummy cell and wait for the others to save me, when I can just melt through the bars and leave?

Looking back at the five other prisoners, I saw they all seemed pretty much harmless. Turning back to the cell door, I lit a purple flame in my hand. At this point the other prisoners were watching with bewilderment. Grabbing the part of the cell that was locked, I melted the latch that held the door closed and it immediately swung open. Then turning, I winked at the prisoners, saluted them, and took off running from the cell back into the streets of the village. Something told me those prisoners weren't in there for murder, so I wasn't concerned I'd just released them.

When I eventually got to the village square, I was surprised to find it empty. Looking around, I saw an elderly man sweeping dirt from his home doorway. Running over to him, I asked, "Where is everyone?"

He smiled. "Oh... They're headed to the edge of the village by the cliffs for the avatars trial."

Getting directions from the man who had no clue I'd just broken out of prison, I turned and ran through the streets toward the part of the village I hoped everyone was. When I got there I saw everyone was gathered in a semi circle around Chin's statue. In front of them stood Aang dressed in Kyoshi warrior attire and holding two fans. He was also wearing the same make up I saw Sokka wear a long time ago at Kyoshi Island. The mayor smirked beside him and I knew that meant Aang was losing.

So badly I wanted to go up and help, but I knew if I did they'd just imprison me again.

Suddenly Aang's arrows began to glow and the wind around him picked dirt up till all you could see was a a swirl of dust around Aang. When it left Avatar Kyoshi was standing in Aang's place. She was tall and beautiful, with an elegant kimono. "I killed Chin the Conqueror!" Kyoshi admitted.

Slapping my forehead in disbelief, I thought in my head, _"No helping Kyoshi."_

Kyoshi then went into a story about how Chin was expanding his army to all corners of the continent, and had began to reach Kyoshi's home to conquer it as well. Kyoshi refused to let him take control, and so she used her amazing powers to bend the two lands apart. That was how Kyoshi Island was made, but in that same moment Chin the conqueror fell between the two splitting lands and died in the ocean below. When Kyoshi finished her story I felt bad for thinking so terribly about her. All she had done was protected her home from a cruel man.

Kyoshi then disappeared in the swirl of dust, and Aang was back beginning to fall. Katara and Kale Rushed forward steadying him. "What just happened?" Aang asked.

Kale winced. "You just confessed dude."

The mayor scowled, "And I find you guilty! Bring out the wheel of punishment!"

A few minutes passed till a wheel was pulled into view with different kinds of punishments. My fingers crossed that Aang would just get community service, but when they spun it and the arrow landed on _boiled in oil. _As the crowd cheered, I scowled and began to turn. Just as I did a lit fire bomb flew past my face and landed near the statue of Chin. As it exploded the crowd screamed and searched for the attacker.

My eyes shot to the street of the village where the same men from before emerged. The leader, Colonel Montgke stepped his rhino forward while the other four men made their rhinos follow. "We've come to claim this village for the Fire Lord! Now show me your leader so I may... dethrone him." He grinned at the crowd as they all immediately pointed at the mayor.

"That's him!" a man shouted.

The mayor rushed behind the wheel to hide, and I heard him say to Aang that his punishment was changed to community service and all he had to do was get rid of the rhino men. As Aang started to fight, I smirked and lit a flame in my hand. It was so pay back time.

Turning, I rushed toward the rhino men not surprised to see Aang had already started to fight the leader. With a thrust of my hand, I shot purple fire at the one who had kicked me in the side earlier. He scowled and jumped off his rhino, then pulled a sword out ready to fight. "You gonna fight me, princess?"

Grinning, I increased the power of my flame. "You kicked me in the side... I want you to know that hurt a lot."

He scowled and ran forward with the sword going to slice me. Thrusting my hand forward I shot a blast of flames at him sending him flying back from the impact. He hit the ground hard, and I heard him groan. Smirking, I heard Aang say, "Nice one Amber!"

Turning to see where he was, I gasped when I was knocked to the ground hard. A lit fire bomb flew over my head again and landed by the man I'd just knocked down. He jumped to his feet and jumped onto his rhino rushing off just before it exploded. Kale placed his whole body over my own as the explosion sent dust and debris over us. When the dust had settled, we both coughed and tried to sit up.

Kale sighed when he saw I was okay and helped me up. "How'd you escape the prison?" he asked.

Shrugging, I answered, "I took Sokka's advice. I melted the bars. Sadly there was no swish, swish, or air bending slice so the escape wasn't as exciting." Kale laughed and shook his head in disbelief.

By the time we got into the village the others had somehow managed to make the Rough Rhino men leave. Sokka jumped up and down with excitement as he waved his boomerang in the air. "Look, Amber! You were right! I did get it back!" Aang and Katara rolled their eyes.

That night the village celebrated a new avatar day, this one being to honor Aang for his service to the people. In his honor we were pretty much forced to eat raw dough which I found disgusting. As festivities began and the villagers began to dance and celebrate, Kale and I found a nice place to sit on a stone bench. It was quieter where we were, so we could hear ourselves think.

"I'm glad Aang's enjoying himself," I said, watching as Aang was yanked into the dancing crowd by a girl maybe two years younger than him.

Kale didn't respond, and I looked over at him with question. It was then I saw he was staring at the ground in deep concentration. "You still want to know about my brother?" This surprised me, and I looked at him now curious. He looked over at me and I nodded to give him my answer. He sighed and looked back down. "I guess I know so much about you, but you barely know anything about me apart from us being best friends in the past."

Kale seemed to go off into a far place then, as he said, "I can start at the beginning... That's probably the easiest place to start..."


	6. Kale's Story

**Kale POV**

My fists clenched as I began to tell Amber my story. It was odd telling someone about my whole life, when before no one really cared. Seeing the curiosity burning in hers though told me she wanted to know, and this made it easier to get it off my chest.

"My family were just simple peasants in the Fire Nation trying to survive. When my father first began to fight in the war he quickly began to advance in rank. He met my mom and had Kuro. By the time he died he was a commander. My brother was ten years older than me, so by the time I was born he was just beginning to gain an interest in the war. Kuro was one of the best brothers I could have ever wished for. When I was three and mom died he took care of me while dad was at war. He taught me all I needed to know about fighting, about respecting those above us, and about surviving. When father died a month before I turned six, that's when the soldiers came to our home and told us father's last dying wish. My brother was sent to a training camp while I was sent to the palace to work as a servant. After that I hadn't heard from my brother till three years later… After you went missing…"

_"Kale! You're brothers here to see you," the head chef Jugo- a fifty year old man with gray hair and a nasty scar on his hand- said appearing at the doorway I was just about to enter. Ever since Amber had gone missing three years ago and the Fire Lord claimed her to be dead I'd shut down from the world. My eyes were dull and my voice was emotionless. My heart stung at the thought that the one girl who accepted me was dead._

_Walking past the chef silently, my ten year old self walked down the hall to the servant quarters where I assumed my brother would be waiting. Walking to my room- which was just a closet with a torn mat and a bag of what little I owned, I was surprised to see my nineteen year old brother standing against the door to my room. He had grown a lot since I'd last seen him. His hair that usually was down happened to be placed up in a topknot and his muscles were a lot more visible under the dark shirt he wore. He had a sword on his waist, and I noticed a scar right below his left cheek bone._

_"Hey… It's been a while Kale," Kuro said, smiling kindly at me. He was nineteen and seemed to have really matured over the last four years of being at war._

_"What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice showing little emotion._

_His eyes widened at my question, and I saw concern flash through his eyes. "What's wrong with you?"_

_Scowling, I snapped, "Wouldn't you like to know?!"_

_Then I tried to walk past him into my room. Kuro grabbed my shoulder to stop me. "I know what's going on… I've heard rumors from the other servants."_

_"How long have you been here?" I muttered, annoyed that he was eavesdropping. _

_"I got here thirty minutes ago. I spoke to some guy named Juro or Jugo or something. He told me you've been pretty dead like since the princess went missing. Don't tell me you liked her?"_

_Growling, I pulled away from him and hissed, "So what if I did?! She was the only one in this hell hole that gave crap about me! Don't blame me for liking her!"_

_Stomping into my room, I plopped down on my mat and crossed my arms annoyed. Kuro had followed me in the room. "I'm not blaming you Kale… I just want you to realize that what you're feeling will pass. You're grieving over the princess's loss, and I understand you cared about her deeply, but you need to grow up. Prince Ozai, Ursa, Zuko, and Azula have all grieved and moved on. You need to do the same. You'll find someone else in the future… She won't be the only one you'll feel this way about. She'd want you to move on."_

_Staring up at my brothers dark brown eyes, I snapped, "You're wrong! Amber isn't dead! I know she isn't!"_

_Kuro sighed. "And how would you know that?"_

_My hand instinctively touched my pocket where the purple stone sat. It still felt alive… It wasn't glowing or hot, but it had a sort of warmth to it that told me she was still out there. Amber was out there alive somewhere._

_"I just do."_

_"Stop obsessing Kale!" My brother snapped. "She's dead! Get that through your thick skull! If Amber were alive she would've come home by now! Stop believing in something that will never be true!"_

_His words felt like a slap in my face. With fury I jumped up and yelled, "She is alive, and one day I'll find her! The Fire Lord and Prince Ozai have something to do with this! I just know their behind this somehow!"_

_Kuro's hand met my face and my eyes widened in shock as I felt my cheek burn from the slap. Clutching the place he hit me, I looked back up at him in disbelief. Kuro had never physically hurt me before. "Don't speak of the Fire Lord in that way Kale, not even of his son that way. In a few years Ozai will be the new Fire Lord, and you will have to treat him with great respect and honor!"_

_Tears welled in my eyes, and I watched as my brother tried to cool down and collect himself. After a moment he let out a hard sigh and hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry Kale… I shouldn't have hit you…" A few more seconds passed till he spoke again. "You have a right to feel the way you do about the princess… but you need to remember that as long as there's a fire lord on that throne you can be seriously charged for speaking ill against him. I do not want to watch my brother go to jail."_

_Hanging my head, I nodded. "Sorry," I muttered, still rubbing my cheek._

_Kuro sighed again. "Okay… Let's start over… I came today because I wanted to invite you to come ride one of the rhinos with me. I'm stationed at the training camp here and they gave us a day off before we have to leave again."_

_Smiling weakly, I said, "I've never road a rhino before." _

_Kuro grinned. "Well you're in for a treat then."_

"Kuro took me to the fire nation training camp after getting permission from the head chef and showed me all the weapons, armor, and maps that I was allowed to see. Then he took me on one of the rhinos and taught me how to steer it. When it got late he walked me back to the palace and we said our goodbyes. That was the last time I would ever see my brother. About a year after I received a message from a soldier telling me there was an explosion on the ship my brother was on, and there were no survivors."

_The soldier stood in front of me, his eyes sad as he handed me the medal the Fire Lord issued to every family who had a fallen soldier. "Sorry kid," the mid thirty year old man said, placing the gold medal in my hand. "I knew your brother. He was a great soldier, and he always did his best in the line of battle. I'm sorry for your loss." He then gave me a bow and turned leaving me at the door that led into the servant quarters. Maids and other servants stayed silent behind me as they waited for my reaction._

_Clutching the medal tightly in my hand, I felt warm tears fall down my cheeks as I tried to grasp what the soldier was saying. Kuro's dead… He's dead…_

_"Kale… Why don't you go to your room? I'll take your shift for the rest of the day," one of the servants said, but I barely heard him. Gritting my teeth, I tried hard to contain the rage I felt right now. It was the Fire Lord's fault! It was all his fault! First Amber, now my brother! He'd pay! He'd pay!_

_Turning, I shoved past the servants who watched me go with sympathy. When I got to my room, I slammed my door shut and smashed my head against it. Then I let out a furious scream as I slammed the medal into the door and dropped to my knees. "Kuro! You weren't supposed to die! You promised you'd come back! What happened to your promise?!" I smashed the medal to floor now, my body convulsing as tears continued to fall._

_Mom… Dad… Amber… and now Kuro… I'd lost them all. I'd lost the only people on earth who ever cared about me. I was alone… I was alone… And it was all because of him…_

_The Fire Lord!_

"My grieving period lasted for only two days, and then I was working again. After though, when I served tea to any noble I would always have a tint of hatred in my eyes. When Ursa went missing later on that only heightened my hatred more. Then Ozai took the throne and burned his own son. That's when I knew… Ozai did have something to do with your death. When Ozai walked past me in the hallway a few months after Zuko's banishment that's when he began to fear me… He could see in my eyes I knew he was the cause of it all, and so he sent me away to ensure that I kept my mouth shut. All along I was right though… All along you were really alive."

Looking over at Amber, I saw her gold eyes filled with tears as she took in everything I'd gone through in my life. She must've been picturing all the pain I felt over the ones I lost. At least I was right about one thing though that my brother got wrong… Amber was alive, and the Fire Lord did have something huge to do with it.

"I- I'm so sorry Kale," Amber said, her hand covering her mouth as tears fell down her cheeks. "You've been through so much, and it's all because of my family. Your father… brother… they were both killed for fighting a war that should've never begun. You've lost so much…"

Smiling I pulled her into my arms and pressed my face into her hair. "I didn't tell you my life story to make you cry," I said, aching to see her so torn over this. It didn't really bother me as much anymore. "I'm not upset over it as much as I used to be. I know Kuro would've wanted me to be happy, and I am happy. Right now I'm the happiest person in the world. Though I do miss my family greatly, I know that it was meant to be this way. If my father and brother were still alive they would've made me join the army when I turned seventeen, and then I would've been forced to fight against you. I'm thankful every day since I found you that the Fire Lord sent me away. I reunited with my best friend, met the most amazing friends ever, and got to choose for myself. I have no regrets."

She pulled away and looked at me with those beautiful gold orbs. "But you lost everyone you loved… You lost your whole family…"

Her care for me only made me love her more. Placing a hand on her soft tear stained cheek, I said, "I haven't lost everyone I love." Then I leaned forward and kissed her deeply, closing my eyes as I savored this moment wishing it could last forever. She sighed and leaned into me accepting my kiss. At that moment I knew she loved me as much as I loved her.

"Hey guys! There you are!" Sokka shouted, and immediately we pulled away blushing deeply as we looked over at Sokka. He came over with another piece of raw dough from the avatar celebration. "We're heading out. We decided we'd wait to sleep and get as far away from this crazy village as we can."

Amber sighed and wiped her cheeks to try and hide she'd been crying. It was a bit dark except for the light from a few torches, so you wouldn't really be able to see the tears from where Sokka stood. "You always come in at such a great timing," Amber said, but I could tell she was not complimenting him.

Sokka showed in his blue eyes he knew she meant the opposite, and I had a feeling he knew we were kissing a second ago.

He covered it up though and said, "Come on you two... Let's go before any of us are imprisoned again." He then grabbed Amber's wrist and pulled her off the bench. Rolling my eyes, I stood and followed. Amber looked back at me, and I saw her give me that amazing smile I loved so much.

Smiling back, I knew in my heart this was supposed to be. Though I missed my family, I knew I belonged with Amber and the others. Call it gut, but deep down I knew there was no place I'd rather be. Amber was my sun, and as long as I was with her, I'd always be happy. Nothing would ever take my sun from me again.


	7. Meeting Toph

**Here's the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy. Hopefully I can get the next one up before I move into college. If not I'll work on it as much as I can. Thanks for the reviews.**

**~faithy waithy**

* * *

Standing in the small shop of what seemed to be a bag store, I shook my head in disbelief when I saw my brother place a strap over his shoulder that was attached to a ridiculous green bag. Kale stared at it with disbelief, while Katara looked annoyed. Aang sat on the floor of the shop looking bored out of his mind, his straw hat hanging over his face a bit as he tried to stay awake.

"Sokka… Can I ask you what exactly you plan on using that bag for?" I asked, crossing my arms to keep from ripping it off his shoulder.

It had been three days since we'd left Chin Village, and for the last three days we'd been stopping at every village we passed to see if there was an earth bender who could teach Aang. Every earth bender we ran into, Aang would always snap, "Their not the one!" Then we'd get back on Appa and fly away losing more and more time and getting closer and closer to Sozins Comet.

Now we were at a city known as Gaoling, and Sokka had rushed into a shop full of bags picking up a huge green one that looked ridiculous on his shoulder. He'd been standing there for five minutes now debating if he should get the bag or not.

To answer my question, he held the bag up as if letting me see it closer would answer the question for him. Tapping my foot, I waited for a real answer. "I can use it to carry important stuff in," he said, dropping the bag at his side and crossing his own arms.

"Like what? You're socks?!"

He scowled and stubbornly said, "No! Other things! Like my maps, and- and an extra shirt just in case I fall in the mud! There are a lot of things this bag can be used for."

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed the tag on the side of the bag to show Sokka the price. "That's a lot of money Sokka for a pointless bag. Money we need to save for when we need to buy something important."

Sokka yanked the bag away. "The mayor gave us money to last a while. I don't think buying this one bag will make us dirt poor."

Letting out a sigh, I said, "Fine… If it makes you happy Sokka, then get the bag that I find utterly pointless."

He narrowed his eyes. "Fine! I will!" Then he turned to walk away, but paused and looked back at the bag. "Though I guess it is a bit pricey… but at the same time I really like it."

Kale now jumped in annoyed and ready to leave the shop. "Then get it!"

In the end Sokka finally got the bag and we left the shop with utter relief. As Sokka paid inside, we stood at the entrance and waited for him to catch back up to us. As we waited I noticed all three of them looking at me with question. At once I felt self-conscious and backed away so I could try and get out of their gazes. "What? What did I do this time?"

Aang immediately looked away, and Katara pursed her lips not sure what to say. Kale smiled weakly. "Um… Not much… Just you seem a bit more aggravated than normal."

Scowling, I snapped, "I'm not aggravated… Why would you think that?"

Katara was the one to speak now. "It's just this morning you started snapping at everything we said to you, and you've been sort of in a far off place. What's going on?"

Staring into my sisters concerned eyes, I sighed and crossed my arms with a frown. "I just haven't been sleeping good… I have a lot on my mind..."

"You're not having night-" Katara began to ask but was cut off by a man who was holding a flyer in his hand. As the man told Aang and Katara about an earth bending school, I thought about what Katara was about to ask me. "_You're not having nightmares again, are you?"_

Closing my eyes, I hung my head in defeat. Katara could always see right through me.

Last night when I fell asleep at our small made campsite, I fell asleep and dreamed. In my dream I was at the palace and I was running. Every hall I ran down seemed to never end, and when I turned to another hall I found it would always take me back to the first. Why I was running was a mystery to me, and every now and then I'd try and look back to see if I could find anyone chasing me. The halls were dark and empty, and the candle light seemed to only shed light on the wall and nothing else. Whatever I was running from, it had my dream self terrified. When I tried to light a flame in my hand, I couldn't even get a spark. Freezing in the hall, I'd looked down at my hands which were shaking terribly. When I looked back up to run again, I saw Huo standing in front of me with a grin. "There's my flame," he said, and as he reached forward to grab me, I gasped and woke up.

The dream terrified me more than ever, and it was because of the simple fact that Huo had called me_ his_ flame. He gave me life, and now I would forever be a part of him. He could probably rip my spirit away from this world if he wanted to, and that very thought terrified me. What if he did take me away from this world to be his eternal flame servant? Then I'd never see my family, Aang, Zuko, Iroh, or Kale ever again. The thought of being torn from them made me sick to my stomach.

Warm arms encircled me, and I tried to relax in Kale's loving hold. "I'm sorry… I wish there was something I could do to help."

A tear threatened to spill from my eye and I only closed them tighter. "I'm fine… I promise." Kale wasn't convinced one bit, but when he pulled away and saw I didn't want to talk about it he dropped it which I was grateful for.

When Sokka finally rejoined us, Katara and Aang showed us a flyer for some Earth Bending school taught by Master Yu. They seemed to believe this guy could be Aang's future teacher, and since we were given a free lesson we decided to go ahead and see.

As we walked through the street toward where the Earth bending school was, I looked over at Sokka feeling a bit ashamed about earlier. "Sorry for snapping at you before Sokka… I was being a jerk."

He smiled and looked at me with those loving brotherly eyes I'd known for many years. "It's okay. I know you have a lot on your mind right now."

"That still didn't give me a right to have an attitude toward you," I said, hanging my head with guilt.

"You're forgiven," Sokka promised, giving me a one armed hug as we continued to walk down the street.

Eventually we finally arrived at a large gateway created by two stone walls with a sign beside it reading _Master Yu's Earth Bending Academy. _As Aang went in to see about his free lesson, Kale and I decided to take a walk and see the city some more. Telling Katara and Sokka we were just going down a few streets and back, we both left heading toward the busy shops.

As we walked I felt Kale take my hand in his and I returned the favor. "I hope Aang finds his teacher, because I'm starting to get tired of looking," Kale said.

"We've never had to actually search for Aang's teacher before. Aang immediately had Katara as his teacher, and before that he had the monks at the air temple to be his air bending guides. Now we're looking for a teacher and Aang's being really picky. This could take another week or two before we find the right one."

Kale sighed. "At least he has a fire bending teacher when he does master earth."

Frowning, I looked down at the ground remembering something Aang had said a long time ago, back when we were meeting Jeong Jeong for the first time.

_It's just you learned fire bending on your own, and I think it's better for me to find someone- _

Aang had tried to tell me that day before I cut him off that he wanted to find someone who was trained and more knowledgeable with fire bending. Not someone like me- a girl who woke up with no memory and had to learn fire bending all on her own. Aang was right in some ways not to let me be his teacher. I do admit what I could do with fire came to me by instinct. If I were to teach him how to fire bend, I wouldn't even know where to start.

"I don't think I should be Aang's teacher for fire bending… I barely know how to teach myself."

Kale was a bit surprised. "What are you saying? You're the most powerful fire bender I know! You can bend purple fire for agni sake!"

Pulling from his hand, I crossed my arms as my frown deepened. "Yeah… yay me," I muttered.

He was surprised by my reaction, and I saw him look at me now with understanding. "You don't want it do you?"

My eyes filled with tears. "All I want is to be free… Free to choose my own path, and free to be who I want to be. That can't happen though, because no matter how far I run, or how hard I try to escape, I'll always be part spirit. My link to Roku and Huo will never be broken, and because of that I feel so trapped. All I want is to be… to be…" My throat went dry as I went to say the word. Then I finally managed to say it, "… human."

Kale suddenly grabbed my shoulders and turned me so I was pressed against his chest and he was wrapping his warm arms around me. My tears slid down my cheek but his warmth kept me from breaking down. "You're so stubborn," he whispered. "Who cares if your part spirit… You're more human than anyone I've ever met. You care for others and your heart is pure. I don't even think spirits have a heart, so you're definitely nowhere near being one of them." He then took my hand in his and forced me to press my palm against my chest where my heart beat inside. "You have a heart, Amber. Don't forget that."

When he pulled away my hand still pressed against my chest where my heart steadily beat. A human heart…

Smiling, I looked up at Kale and saw he too was smiling at me. "Come on," he said. "We still have some time before Aang's lesson is over. Want to go check out another shop?"

Nodding, I felt him take my hand again and pull me into one of the shops nearby. As his warm hand encircled my own, I felt both of our pulses as we walked through the doorway.

Human… Kale made me feel human…

When we got back to the others a few minutes later we got back and found Sokka and Aang standing in front of the school entrance with no sign of Katara. Aang was wearing a green outfit which I assumed he got from the school. "How'd it go?" Kale asked, walking over while I followed behind. My eyes were still a bit red from crying before, and I hoped Sokka wouldn't notice.

Aang smiled weakly. "He wasn't the guy… I don't think I could learn anything from him even if I tried."

"Sounds like were back to the drawing board," I said.

Katara suddenly ran up behind us and stopped beside me. "You ready to find an earth bending teacher? Because we're going to Earth Rumble 6!"

Aang grinned. "How did you get them to tell you?"

There was a look in Katara's eyes… almost a look of mischief. "Oh, a girl has her ways."

Later that night we found ourselves at a cave just outside the city walls. Sokka paid for our tickets as we all walked in, and I noticed Momo was in Sokka's bag which surprised me. When had Momo snuck into Sokka's bag, and why wasn't the little lemur with Appa? Deciding it wasn't important, I followed everyone into the cave where we arrived at a huge arena. The arena had rows and rows of seats, and in the center was a huge rectangular stage that was raised off the ground creating a big trench around it.

"Wow! This looks amazing!" Kale shouted, while Sokka and Aang looked around with excitement. Katara and I both shared a look of disbelief with one another as we followed the three boys down the steps to the bottom rows where no one seemed to be sitting. As we sat on the second row, I sat on the very end beside Katara who looked as uncomfortable as I felt.

"I wonder why no one else is sitting here," Aang suddenly said.

A boulder flew out of nowhere then landing right beside Aang. Katara and I looked over with worry to make sure he was okay, and when we saw he was we sighed in relief. Kale, who sat in the middle of all of us, asked Aang, "Answer your question?"

Looking back at the arena I saw a man was being raised from the earth stage about ten feet in the air so everyone could see him. "Welcome to Earth Rumble 6! I am your host, Xin Fu!"

As he spoke, and the competition began, I felt my mind wander and take me back to the past. Back to when I was back at the fire nation.

"_Amber! Come on!" Ty Lee cried, taking my five year old hand in hers. "It's about to start!"_

_There was an Agni Kai today, and it was between my father and a soldier. From what mom had told me earlier that morning the soldier had refused to bow to my father, and when my grandpa found out he ordered that an Agni Kai would settle who was right and who was wrong. Ty Lee tried to pull me toward the palace arena where the fight would occur, but I yanked from her grip. "No! I don't want to see dad hurt someone Ty Lee!"_

_She pouted. "Come on, it will be fun! Mai, Zuko, and Azula are already there!" She then grabbed my hand again and pulled me once more down the fire nation palace halls, through an open door, and into a crowded arena. The arena had stone bleachers on both sides that stretched to the very top of the wall. The ceiling was arched above with fire nation banners stretched across. In the center was a large space of rectangular earth used for the fighting. When we arrived a guard escorted us to the very front row where Zuko, Mai, and Azula already sat._

_Sitting beside my older brother Zuko, I pulled my knees to my chest as I watched father and the terrified soldier walk onto the fighting ground. "I don't want to watch this," I whispered, looking over to see my grandfather was seated on a gold throne at the very front of the arena. My mother kneeled beside the throne, her eyes filled with pain as she watched what was about to play out. Her eyes met mine, and I saw her smile weakly at me. Immediately I looked away knowing just how she felt._

"_What do you mean you don't want to watch this?! This may be the only chance we see dad fight in an Agni Kai!" Zuko exclaimed, inching on the edge of his seat filled with excitement and eagerness for the fight to start. Mai seemed bored while Ty Lee was bouncing in her seat. Then there was Azula, who grinned like a girl who lost her mind ages ago._

_The sound of the gong rang across the arena as the fight began. Closing my eyes, I didn't want to see what came next. After what felt like an hour of grunts, and shouts of pain, silence fell over the crowd. Ty Lee jabbed me with her elbow and whispered, "Here it is Amber… The final blow."_

_Looking up, I watched with horror as I saw the soldier on his back staring at my father with horror. My dad grinned down at him as he lit a flame in his hand and prepared to fire at the man's face. No! Please don't hurt him! Tightening my fist, I concentrated as my father shot a blast of fire toward the man's face. STOP! The fire suddenly evaporated before it could hit the man who had shut his eyes waiting for his death._

_Gasps escaped the crowd as the fire just disappeared before coming three inches near the man's sweating face. Father tried again, but again I cried out in my head ' No!' and the fire vanished once more._

_My grandfather stood in fury. "What is the meaning of this Ozai! Are you a coward? Finish him off!"_

_My father growled and tried again, but the fire stopped once more. He tried again a good ten more times, but every time he did I shouted in my head for the fire to stop. When father finally gave up, he turned to the Fire Lord who looked enraged. "Father… I am not responsible for this. Someone from the crowd is-"_

_Azulon stood and narrowed his eyes. "Silence my son! If you can't finish this man off then I will." Then he turned to the guards. "Take this traitor to The Boiling Rock! I want him locked away forever!"_

_The man who was still lying on his back, tried to get up and run but the guards rushed over and grabbed him. Then he was dragged away, screaming for help and pleading for a second chance. When he was gone, grandfather started to leave the arena, six guards surrounding him to protect him. "This fight is over!"_

_As the arena began to clear out with half the people disappointed, and the other half relieved, I smiled weakly. Thank goodness that man wasn't killed. "What a bummer," Azula muttered, grabbing Mai and Ty Lee by the shirts and pulling them out of the arena. _

_Zuko sighed, a bit disappointed. "I'm going to my room."_

_As I went to follow him out of the arena, I heard my father shout, "Amber!" Jumping in surprise, I turned to see my father staring over at me with fury. _

_Mother stood from where she still sat by the throne and immediately rushed over. "Ozai, please… We don't know that she's the-"_

"_Silence, Ursa! Leave before I call the guard to take you away," father snapped at my mom, and I saw her torn between staying to protect me, or listening to her husband to avoid his wrath. At once I backed away realizing mom was scared, and that meant I should be horrified. _

"_Please Ozai… Don't hurt her… I beg you," my mother pleaded._

_Ozai growled and called for a guard who immediately rushed over. My mom was forced out of the room, but I saw her look back at me with great concern. "Please Ozai!" my mother cried, making one last attempt to pull from the guards. They yanked her out of the room though, and I was left watching with terror._

_Just as I turned back to my father, I felt his hand smack into my cheek nocking the wind out of me and causing me to fall on my knees. As my vision was blurred, and my cheek stung terribly, I tried to hold in my tears as my five year old body shook terribly. "I know it was you freak! I could see your reaction when the man was taken away alive! You were relieved, and I know that means you were the cause!" He grabbed my hair then and yanked me back up so I was standing again._

_Screaming, I scratched at his hand to try and get him to release his hold on my hair so it would stay in my scalp. "I didn't do anything!"_

_He growled. "You may think you didn't, but I know the truth. You're a little freak, and soon you'll get what you deserve!" He smacked me again and I cried out in pain. Then he dropped me on the ground, kicked me hard on the side, and left me curled in a ball crying my heart out. "You will never be my daughter," he hissed as he left the room. More sobs escaped me as I took in my father's hate._

"Now, the moment you've all been waiting for. The Boulder versus your champion... The Blind Bandit!" My mind immediately brought me back to present as I watched a young girl of maybe twelve arrive on the huge arena. She was about to face off against a giant man with round muscles. As they prepared to fight I felt as if my chest was constricted and I couldn't breathe.

Looking over at Katara, I saw her amazed by the girl. "She can't really be blind. It's just part of her character right?" As Katara and the others continued to watch the fight before them I knew I had to get out of that hot crowded noisy cave. Jumping up, I clutched my head as pain suddenly surged through it. Rushing up the steps, I ran out the cave entrance till finally I was back outside and could breathe. Rushing to the side of the cave, I fell onto it as my head pulsed in pain again. Sinking to my knees, I let my memories take me back once more.

"_Daddy's gonna send you away!" Azula said, smirking at me with those evil five year old eyes. "He told Zhao to get rid of you." _

_Trying to walk by her to enter my own bedroom, I snapped, "Mom would never let that happen, Azula!"_

_She followed me into my bedroom as I climbed on my bed. "It's true. If you don't believe me ask dad yourself. He'll tell you." She stopped at the foot of my bed crossing her arms. "You're nothing to him but a daughter who's too much of a coward to fire bend."_

_Scowling, I pulled my bracelet higher on my arm and then got under my covers. "Go away Azula before you get in trouble for being up too late!" Then I pulled my covers over my head wishing she would just leave. _

"_Don't be surprised when I'm right," Azula snapped, then I heard her leave the room with a skip._

_She had to be lying right? Azula always lies._

_That night when I fell asleep I had a dream. A dream that a huge shadow like man grabbed me with his big hand and yanked me away from my mom and Zuko. They both tried to save me but as they ran toward me I was yanked faster and soon they were nowhere to be seen. In my dream I heard the monster constantly shout, "You're never going back home!" When I woke up with a cry, I found my heart racing rapidly, sweat beading across my forehead, and sobs were escaping me._

_Jumping out of bed, I ran from my room across the hall into Zuko's room. "Zuko!" I cried, running over to his bed where he jumped out of it, landed on his feet, and got ready to attack the person who was invading his room. Not afraid he'd burn me, I rushed forward and threw my arms around him sobbing in terror._

_When Zuko saw it was me, he sighed in relief and pulled me closer to him. "Let me guess… nightmare?"_

_Pressing my face into his night shirt I cried, "It was scary! A monster came and took me away from you and mommy! He kept saying that I was never going back home! I don't want to be taken away!"_

_Zuko sighed and smiled at me. "You won't, Amber… I promise I'll protect you."_

_Nodding, I tried to smile and whispered a small okay. Still, I felt this dreadful feeling that Azula was right. That someone would take me away very soon._

"_Can I stay in here with," I begged. "I'm scared."_

_He smiled and nodded. That night I slept in Zuko's room, hoping no monster would come and take me from my family._

With a gasp, I opened my eyes to find I was on the ground and my arms were holding me up as I shook terribly. My head was killing me and I winced when I tried to move. Why were my memories attacking me again? They hadn't come to me like this in a very long time. Zhao was dead, and I knew who I was, so why did I still have to remember my painful past?

Trying to stand from my knees, I clutched the side of the cave as I held my aching head in my hand. Leaning against the rock beside me, I tried to calm down and looked up at the stars to calm myself down. Why was I letting all of this get to me? I already knew my father hated me, and I knew he was the one who sent me away. Why did these memories have to flood through me so suddenly?

The rock beside me suddenly began to shake, and I gasped pulling away from it as it lowered quickly and a girl stomped through the new opening. She was the same girl I saw in the arena. The girl was maybe twelve, with black hair she kept back with a head band and green eyes that almost looked out of focus and hazed. Her feet were bare as she stomped my way. "Move it Princess! Or you'll get caught in a landslide!"

My eyes widened when she spoke and I stepped out of the way watching her stomp by. Did she know who I was? Or was she just calling me names?

Watching her go, I raised an eyebrow as she headed back toward the city. Who was that?

Sighing, I turned and headed back toward the entrance of the cave. I was certain the others had noticed my absence by now. When I got back to the entrance people were already filing out, some of them looking disappointed while others were amazed. "That kid nocked The Blind Bandit straight off the stage without even letting her touch him! So cool," a boy of maybe fifteen exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air.

Watching the crowd go with question, I finally saw the others emerge from the entrance. Sokka was grinning like a mad man, and Aang looked disheartened. Katara and Kale rushed over to me as Sokka held up a belt and waved it in Aang's face. "Where'd you go? You missed Aang fighting and defeating The Blind Bandit!" Kale said, grabbing both my shoulders with excitement.

Katara met my eyes then, and I saw she could see something was troubling me. 'What's wrong?' she mouthed. Looking away, I smiled weakly at Kale. "Sorry. I just needed to get some fresh air."

That night Sokka used the winnings from Aang's victory to pay for us to stay at a very nice inn. As Katara and I went to the women's washroom to clean up and get ready for bed, I noticed Katara looked like she wanted to ask, but wasn't sure how to start. So instead, I decided to speak.

"I'm fine… I'm just having flashbacks again. It's no big deal," I said, wiping my face with a rag the inn keeping lady gave us.

Katara began to braid her hair again. "I thought you were done with flashbacks ever since Zhao died."

Sighing, I threw the rag in the wooden basket and started to head back toward the room I was staying in. "I thought so too."

The next day we spent the whole time trying to find out who this Blind Bandit chick was. Aang said she was the one that was supposed to teach him, so we had no choice but to search. After a while we ended up questioning two boys from the Earth Bending Academy who seemed a bit uncomfortable when they saw Katara. I had a feeling they'd met before.

"In my vision, I saw a girl in a white dress with a pet flying boar. Know anybody like that?" Aang asked the guys who looked about Aang's age.

The tallest one clutched his chin in thought. "Well, a flying boar is the symbol of the Bei Fong family. They're the richest people in town, probably the whole world."

The other kid added, "Yeah, but they don't have a daughter."

Aang smiled. "Flying boar is good enough for me." He glanced back at us. "Let's check it out."

As we began to walk away I heard one of the kids mutter, "Yeah… you better leave."

Katara turned and gave them a hard look. "Hey! I've got my eye on you." They seemed to pale when my sister said this.

As we walked away I tried not to laugh. "What did you do to these guys to make them so scared?"

Katara winked. "I just used my girl charms."

Laughing, I smiled knowing that wasn't what happened. She probably froze them or something.

After asking around on how to get to the Bei Fong mansion we finally found it: A huge stone building at the very end of the city with a ten foot gate surrounding the large perimeter. As we walked toward the metal gate we saw above the symbol of a flying boar. Just as we reached the fence, an earth kingdom guard stepped in our path.

"Halt! Visitors are not allowed without invitation. You kids get lost before I call for back up," the guard ordered.

Aang stepped forward to try and explain. "Sorry sir… We're here to speak to-"

The guard scowled. "I don't care why you're here. You have no invitation; therefore you are not allowed to pass this gate. Get lost!"

As Aang went to argue, I grabbed him by the shoulder and whispered in his ear, "We'll just climb over the wall."

He liked this idea and looked back at the guard now bowing. "Sorry for intruding. We'll be on our way."

We rounded around the perimeter till we got to a spot where there were no guards anywhere. Then we began to hoist one another up. Aang was too excited as he flew over the gate and left us all behind. Eventually we made it over the gate and landed easily on the other side. As soon as we did the earth underneath us pushed upward and we flew a good three feet in the air before we landed in a heap on the ground. As we tried to collect ourselves, we saw the same girl from last night walk up. "What are you doing here Twinkle Toes?" she asked Aang, not happy to see him.

"How did you know it was me?" Aang asked.

Sokka cried, "Don't answer to Twinkle Toes! It's not manly!" We all glanced at his bag and tried not to roll our eyes.

Kale muttered under his breath, "Say's the man with the purse."

"How did you find me?" the girl spat, trying to get answers.

Aang stood and the rest of us followed. "Well, a crazy king told me I had to find an earth bender who listens to the earth. And then I had a vision in a magic swamp and..."

Katara quickly broke in. "What Aang is trying to say is, he's the Avatar, and if he doesn't master earth bending soon he won't be able to defeat the Fire Lord."

She frowned. "Not my problem. Now get out of here before I call the guards."

Sokka scowled and stepped forward. "Look! We all have to do our part in the war, and yours is teaching Aang earth bending!"

The girl turned and shouted across the garden area we were in, "Guards! Guards help!"

We freaked out and rushed over to the wall, climbing back over and landing on the other side. When we got to the ground I snapped, "That little spoiled rotten brat! When I get my hands on her-"

"There's no need Amber," Aang suddenly said, landing beside us with a smirk. "I have an idea."

At first we weren't sure what Aang meant, but when we returned to the guard a bit later who looked furious that we came back, Aang tore his hat off to reveal his arrow tattoos. "Hi. I'm the avatar. You wouldn't mind taking me to the Bei Fongs right?"

He was a bit surprised and seemed ashamed for turning away someone so important. Somehow, by some matter of luck, we were seated at the long table of the Bei Fong's eating dinner. Kale and I had just returned about ten minutes ago from getting Appa and bringing him to the palace garden where the care takers got him some fruit and hay. How we got chosen for the job was still a mystery to me.

As we sat at the table, I stared across it at the three other people besides the girl named Toph. There was Toph's mom, her stern looking father named Lao, and the teacher Yu from the school Aang had attended yesterday. As we started to eat, Toph's mom said with a smile, "Avatar Aang. It is an honor to have you visit us."

Lao nodded in agreement. "In your opinion how much longer do you think the war will last?"

Aang answered, "I'd like to defeat the fire lord by the end of summer, but I can't do that without finding an earth bending teacher first." His eyes shot over to Toph.

Lao immediately gestured toward Yu. "Well, Master Yu is the finest teacher in the land. He's been teaching Toph since she was little."

Aang smiled, and I knew he was up to something. "Then she must be a great earth bender. Probably good enough to teach someone els- OUCH!"

We all jumped when we looked over to see Aang glaring daggers at Toph, who just continued to eat her meal calmly.

Yu quickly said, "Toph is still learning the basics."

Lao nodded with sad eyes. "Yes, and sadly because of her blindness I don't think she'll ever become a true master."

Placing my cup down, I added in, "Sounds to me like you don't have much faith in her."

Lao glared at me. "How dare you think that? I'm her father and know more about her than you'll ever know. If your own father heard you speak to me the way you are right now he would not be proud."

Scowling, I scooted my chair out and stood with rage. "My father," I hissed. "Why the agni would I care what that man thinks? You're probably just like him too! You won't even tell the world you have a daughter! Why… because you're ashamed? If that's the case then maybe you don't deserve a daughter like Toph!"

Stepping away from the table, I snapped, "If you love your daughter so much, then treat her like an equal and not some helpless little girl!"

Turning, I left the room a bit enraged at the man Toph called father. He was blinder than Toph. Instead of going to the room we were given, I stormed out into the palace garden and plopped down on a stone bench staring into the dark night. As quiet fell over me, I breathed in and out calming my blood which was boiling. I knew I'd overreacted in there, but when he'd brought up my father it made me want to sock him in the jaw.

About an hour passed, and I'd finally calmed. Soon I was lying on the soft grass and staring up at the stars.

"Hey, Princess!" My eyes shot over to the dark shadow of Toph as she walked over to me easily in the dark. "You caused a bit of a scene at dinner."

"Whoops… My bad," I muttered sarcastically.

"It's okay. That chick Katara explained everything. Sorry about my dad's stupid mouth," she said, then I heard her plop down beside me. "He can be a bit of a jerk sometimes."

Sighing, I put my hands behind my head as I stared at the stars above. "Why don't you tell him the truth?"

She snorted. "Tell him I secretly fight every week against really buff men as some chick named The Blind Bandit… I think I'll pass. All my dad needs to know is I'm a blind girl who does whatever she can to make her family happy. If dad found out the truth I'd never see daylight again."

"Then why do you stay?" I asked, sitting up now and picking at a piece of grass.

She sighed. "Because they're my parents… I don't want to break their hearts."

"So in the process you'll just break your own… You'll be a poor innocent blind girl during the day, and at night sneak out if and whenever you get the chance so you can be your true self. So all in all you only get to be the real Toph for what… maybe five hours?"

Silence passed, and I could tell she was taking in what I'd said. "Okay…" she whispered. "I get your point. It's hard hiding who I truly am, but what am I supposed to do? I don't want my dad to lock me up forever."

Smiling weakly, I pulled my knees close to my chest. "Being locked up is a lot better than being sentenced to die."

Another moment of silence passed, and I heard Toph say, "It was sad what Katara said, about how your dad sent you away to die. I think that's the point where my father really regretted saying what he said to you. I could never imagine having a father who would want me dead."

"At least you don't… Which is why I think you can tell him the truth. Tell him who you really are Toph. No one likes to live two lives… believe me, I would know."

Toph nodded then, and I heard her stand and turn to walk away. "Thanks, Princess… You're the first person in a while I can actually talk to."

"You could talk to Aang too, if you tried," I said.

She laughed and walked away, saying, "Sure… I'll go speak to Twinkle Toes."

"Let them know I'm okay," I called after her, knowing she heard. As I was left alone again, I sighed and lied back to look up at the stars once more.

It seemed like only thirty minutes passed till I heard something. The sound of Toph shouting, "We're being ambushed!"

Jumping up, I ran through the shrubs and across the garden till I reached the large gate and saw the Earth Bender competitors from before had put Aang and Toph in two metal boxes. "Hey! Let them go!" I ordered, racing forward and lighting a flame. They all turned and looked at me with surprise.

"Boulder!" The one in the coal miner outfit shouted, and suddenly the earth below me stretched up and wrapped around my body. Gasping, I felt the flame die as earth encircled me up to my chest, locking my arms to my side.

The buff guy from earlier, The Boulder, walked over to me with a smirk. "Hey… The Boulder's heard of you… Princess Amber… The Boulder thinks we can make a profit off of this one too."

"Why do you speak in third person?" I asked a bit annoyed as I struggled to escape the earth around me.

"The Boulder can speak however he wants to!" he snapped in my face.

Before I had a chance to fight or escape, they'd dragged me and the boxed up Toph and Aang down below the earth in a tunnel. We walked underneath the city, though I was being hauled on The Boulders hard shoulder the whole time. My hands were behind my back encircled with some type of metal covering. My mouth was tied up as I tried to scream for help, and my feet were bound so I couldn't run.

As we walked under the earth with the only light coming from a torch carried by The Boulders other hand, I heard Toph smashing her metal box and screaming, "When I get out you're all so dead!"

Somehow we ended back up at the arena from before, and the arena master stood in the center with an evil glint to his eye. When he saw me, I saw him a bit surprised. "What's this? I only ordered you to capture the boy and the girl!"

The Boulder dropped me on the ground and I winced from the sting on my side. Glaring up at the man, I wanted so much to just burn him and give him a taste of his own medicine. "We were caught by this girl, Xin Fu. She shoots purple flame and is traveling with the avatar. That means she's the Fire Lords daughter," the coal miner dude explained.

Xin Fu walked over to me, his forty year old slender face looking down at me with greed. "Really… Well then she'll fetch a hefty price if we sell her to the fire nation."

He then grabbed me by the shirt and dragged me across the arena while the other men hung Toph and Aang's prisons above the arena with a steel chain. With rage, I lit a flame and melted the metal cuff around my hand. When my hands were free, I shot fire at the man still dragging me, and he released me flying forward with an 'oof'.

Melting the chain on my feet, I jumped to my feet and prepared to fight the man who looked at me with fury. His shirt was singed and he had a burn mark on his arm. "You little freak!"

As he put his hand forward to fight me I lit another flame ready to fight him. The ground beneath me began to shake, and I jumped back just as the rock shot upward. He'd tried to launch me but luckily I was faster. When I tried to run around the huge tower of earth, I felt my foot become incased by rock and I cried out as pieces of the stone dug into my foot. Trying to pull my encased foot out of the dirt, I heard Aang shout, "Look out Amber!"

Turning, I shot a blast of fire at The Boulder sending him flying backward before he had the chance to grab me. "Oh no you don't!" Xin Fu hissed, and suddenly earth came up on all sides of me encasing me in a prison just as the general a few weeks ago had done. "Hey!" I screamed, lighting a flame and slamming it against my pitch black cell.

"I'd stop fire bending in there, or you'll start to lose air," Xin Fu snapped on the other side of the wall.

Sighing, I tried hard not to scream at this man. Did he not realize that I could just melt the rock away if I wanted to? Deciding not to immediately break out of my prison, I listened to what was happening on the other side. They were discussing what to do with Aang and I, talking about the best places to sell us where they could make the most profit.

"We're splitting the cash, right?" one of the unnamed benders with us asked.

"You men will be paid for your services as soon as the Bei Fong's come to retrieve their daughter," Xin Fu said.

Toph cackled. "You're all idiots! My parents aren't going to give in to your demands! And even if they do I'm going to get the money back as soon as you release me from this stupid prison!"

"Shut up kid! You're in no condition to threaten me! Have you forgotten that with one flick of my wrist the princess over there will be incased in rock and suffocated."

"Ha!" I laughed on the other side. "Do what you want with me! I'm not scared of a coward like you! Besides, my dad wants me alive, so killing me wouldn't benefit you all very much!"

A fist slammed on the other side of my rocky wall. "Shut up Fire Nation brat!" Xin Fu shouted.

"Why don't you say that to my face?" I yelled back.

He shouted back, "Nice try! I'm not letting you get the chance to escape."

After another few hours passed, I decided I'd been in my dark prison long enough. Lighting my hands with hot purple flames, I shot a stream at the wall in front of me crashing straight through the rock and letting in light. As soon as there was a hole for me to jump through I took my chance and landed quickly on my feet.

The Earth Benders were amazed to find me free once more, and I winked saying, "Nice try boys… But you're gonna have to nock this chick out before you can actually capture her."

The Boulder growled and stepped forward ready to fight. "The Boulder is annoyed at this girl's cocky attitude, and he wants to shove her face in the dirt."

Getting into a stance, I prepared to fight. "Bring it on pebble."

With an outraged shout the Boulder prepared to send a wave of rocks toward me. Xin Fu rushed forward and stopped him. "Enough! We need the girl alive, just as she said. There's only one way to do this without killing her."

"Oh yeah," I said with a smirk. "What's that? Are you going to incase me in earth again."

Xin Fu grinned and approached me, which made me only increase my flame and stand my ground. "Stay back or I'll shoot you off the stage!" It was a threat I hoped would scare him enough to make him leave me alone.

He seemed unfazed as he approached, and I knew I had to attack. With a quick thrust of my hand, I shot a flame at him taking a step back. He dodged and rushed forward, his hand in a fist as he punched me in the stomach causing me to cry out and fall to the earth.

"Amber!" Aang cried. "Leave her alone!"

Quickly I turned and kicked the man off his feet making him fall back and his the earth beside me. Jumping up, I tried to ignore my pain and turned to fight again. The earth underneath me shifted and I felt my feet get pushed out from under me causing me to fly forward. Smashing into the arena stage once more, I tried to get on my knees so I could stand again.

My eyes widened when I looked over at Xin Fu as he pulled his foot back and prepared to kick me square in the face. Shutting my eyes I knew it was coming. As soon as his foot slammed into my head, I felt only pain scream across my scalp, and then darkness took me over.

When I came to it was because I felt some type of warm liquid on my forehead. Opening my eyes weakly, I saw Katara leaning over me and her blue glowing hand was pressed against my scalp. She smiled with relief when she saw my confused eyes meet hers. "What happened?" I asked, then winced my head felt like it was being stabbed. Katara continued to press her healing water against my forehead.

"It's okay… Toph's taking care of the earth benders. Sorry we didn't get here fast enough," she said.

Trying to sit up, I felt Katara's healing waters leave my forehead as she supported me. "How long have I been out?"

Katara helped me to a stand while I clutched my aching head. "Only a few minutes. The arena leader dude just knocked the wind out of you. You had a nasty bruise which I easily healed." Rubbing my forehead where I could still feel the pain from Xin Fu's strong foot, I looked over to see where he was.

There was nothing but dust flying around the arena, and I could hear rock crashing inside the blinding dirt. An earth bender who was dressed as some guy from the Fire Nation suddenly went flying out of the cloud of smoke and into the dugout beside it. Looking at the seats of the arena, I saw Toph's dad and the Earth Bending teacher Yu watching with shock as Toph took down each Earth Bender one by one.

"Could use a little help over here," Sokka suddenly said, and I turned to see he was trying to open Aang's cage with a rock while Kale was trying to pull the cage door apart. Katara and I approached quickly and saw Aang was still stuck in his metal box trying to see what was going on.

Managing to light a flame, I said, "Move… I'll get it." Kale and Sokka stepped out of the way as I melted the lock on the cage and yanked the door open. Aang jumped out with air bending and fell on his feet prepared for battle. Sokka stopped him from attacking; telling him this was Toph's battle. We continued to watch as Toph fought the earth benders with nothing but her hearing and the vibrations from the earth.

As Xin Fu fought Toph, and the other Earth Benders groaned from the dugout area, Kale pulled me into his warm arms relieved to see I wasn't hurt from Xin Fu's attack. "I'm glad you're okay."

Smiling weakly, I leaned into his hold. "I'm glad you guys made it in time."

The sound of someone crashing into the side of the arena brought all of our attention back to Toph. She'd won, and we looked over to see Xin Fu had crashed in between her dad and the other guy Yu. "She won!" Katara said, relieved that Toph had made it out okay.

Toph came back over to us with a smirk. "Of course I won. I beat them all before, so it wasn't hard to beat them all again."

As we all congratulated Toph for her victory, we heard her father run up to us and pull his daughter into a hug. "Toph! Thank the spirits you weren't killed. Come on… Let's get you home."

Later that evening we all gathered in the meeting room at the Bei Fong's home. As we sat on a long cushioned bench we all watched as Toph stood in front of her mother and father preparing to tell them the truth. They'd been quiet for the last few hours, and I had a feeling it was because they didn't know what to say. Now as we sat in the same room together, I saw their eyes were hard as they were prepared to listen.

"Dad, I know it's hard for you to see me this way, but the obedient little helpless blind girl that you think I am just isn't me. I love fighting. I love being an earth bender. And I'm really, really good at it. I know I've kept my life secret from you, but you were keeping me secret from the whole world. You were doing it to protect me. But I'm twelve years old and I've never had a real friend. So now that you see who I really am, I hope it doesn't change the way you feel about me," Toph said, her eyes looking down as she felt her father's gaze on her.

Her father sighed and smiled weakly at his daughter. "Of course it doesn't change the way I feel about you Toph. It's made me realize something."

Toph was surprised and looked up at her dad with question. "It has?"

He nodded folding his hands and narrowing his eyes. "Yes. I've let you have far too much freedom. From now on you will be cared for and guarded 24 hours a day." My eyes widened and I clenched my fists in fury.

"But dad-" Toph began.

Mrs. Beifong spoke then, trying to sound motherly while at the same time strict. "We are doing this for your own good Toph."

Toph's dad Lao then stood and gestured for the guards who approached from the side of the room. "Please escort the Avatar and his friends out. They are no longer welcome here."

As the guards began to force us to leave, I turned toward Toph shouting, "Don't let them depict who you should be Toph! Choose your own path! At least you have a choice!" A guard grabbed me roughly by the shoulder and yanked me out of the room, and away from Toph, who had turned in my direction to show she'd heard what I said.

The guards made us get on Appa and fly out of the Bei Fong home. When we were at the very end of the city walls, we landed on a hill and stared at the city with sad eyes. "That's terrible," Kale said, standing beside me as I stared at the city feeling pained for Toph's imprisonment because of us. "Her parents are monsters."

Aang sighed as he came and stood on my other side. "She was the one… She was supposed to teach me Earth Bending. Now I don't know what I'll do."

"We'll keep searching," Sokka said. "We won't give up till we find you a teacher so we can stop the Fire Nation once and for all."

As we all loaded up on Appa and prepared to head out, Aang hung his head as he took hold of the reins.

"Don't worry. We'll find you a teacher. There are plenty of amazing earth benders out there," Katara said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Not like her," Aang muttered, turning Appa to start to leave.

"Wait!" A voice cried, and we all turned looking at the edge of the hill where we saw Toph arrive. She was wearing her earth nation clothing and had a backpack on her back.

We all were relieved to see her, and Aang smiled as his hope returned. "Toph. What are you doing here?"

She smiled and clutched her bag tighter. "I took some advice from a friend and decided to choose for myself." This made me smile glad she'd chose the right path.

Aang looked back at me grateful, and I blushed looking away.

"You're gonna be a great teacher, Toph," Aang said, glad that she'd decided to come.

She smiled and I saw a look of mischief as she said, "Speaking of which, I want to show you something."

Aang excitedly hopped off of Appa and landed on the earth below. As soon as he did Toph used her bending and caused the ground under Aang's feet to throw him up and cause his body to hit a tree. We all laughed when he got stuck in it. "Now were even." She then held her hand up in the air. "I'll take the belt back."

Sokka frowned and removed the green belt from his waist he'd gotten from Aang's victory during the competition the other day. Throwing it down at Toph, it fell on her head and she crashed to the earth. "Ow!"

Sokka cringed and shrunk a bit in embarrassment. "Sorry."

Rolling my eyes, I slid off of Appa and helped Toph off the ground. Aang had fallen from the tree he'd been stuck on, and rubbed his neck as he climbed Appa again. As I helped Toph in the saddle, she sat beside me when the giant bison took off and began to fly in the air. Wind rushed past us as we headed away from the city that was Toph's home.

Toph suddenly spoke after a few minutes of being in the air. "Thanks, Amber… It's because of you I can finally be free."

Looking at the twelve year old earth bending girl with a smile, I leaned forward and hugged her. At first she was surprised, but then she relaxed. "I'm glad. Welcome to the family Toph."

As Toph began to converse with everyone I sat back against Appa's saddle looking up at the moon that was barely the tip of a fingernail. Momo came over to me and curled up on my lap as I sat crossed legged. Closing my eyes, I remembered what I'd spoken earlier to Kale.

"_All I want is to be free… Free to choose my own path, and free to be who I want to be."_

If Toph was able to choose her own path and be free, then I had no doubt in my mind I could choose my own path and be free. If Toph could break away from her father, then I knew I'd find a way to break from Huo and all the other spirits trying to control my life. No matter how much control the spirits had on me, I'd fight them and find a way to be free. One day I'd make my own decisions and choose the path I wanted to follow. Just like Toph, I'd fight till the last battle.

Even if I'm half-spirit, I'm still human. That's something Huo, Roku, and the other spirits will never take away from me.


	8. A Choice

**A/N: Next Chapter! I made it before college!**

* * *

It had been a day since we'd left Toph's home and now we were preparing to make camp. The sun was just beginning to set over the forest as we landed and when Appa was firmly on the ground we dropped to the earth. As soon as we did I almost screamed. We were standing in a big pile of Appa's fur.

"Hey, you guys picked a great campsite," Toph said, her own bare feet planted in his fur. "The grass is so soft."

Trying not to cringe from the thought of standing on some giant beast's shed fur, I walked to some ground that didn't have white fur on it and sighed with relief. When I looked back I saw Kale looking over at me amused and I narrowed my eyes at him. He smirked and turned away reaching up to grab a sleeping bag from Sokka.

"That's not grass," Sokka explained. "Appa's shedding." More shivers went down my spine and I inched a bit more from the bison's dead fur.

Katara must have been feeling the exact same way as she hopped off the fur too. "Ew! Gross!"

Aang smiled as he stood beside Katara. Patting his best friend Appa, he said, "That's not gross; it's just a part of spring."

At the mention of spring I felt a new dread fill inside me. Spring… That meant summer would come soon… That also meant Sozins comet would be here in no time. The thought made me want to curl up in a ball and hide. If my father managed to gain access of that comet, there's no telling what he'd do with that amount of power. He could wipe out the whole Earth Kingdom.

"_Which is why you must stop him," _Roku suddenly said in my head. His voice made me jump a bit in surprise. It had been days since I'd heard his voice. Not that I was happy with what he said though. Why did I have to stop him? How was I supposed to kill my own father?

Aang was still talking when I refocused on his conversation. "You know, rebirth, flowers blooming, and Appa gets a new coat."

"Ah… The beauty of spring," Katara muttered. Then Appa suddenly stuck out his long tongue revealing hair on it making me cringe even more. As the giant bison sneezed hair flew everywhere and both Katara and I shrieked when it hit us.

Somehow I managed to get away from the shedding beast and headed into the forest to gather fire wood. As I got into the woods, I felt much more relieved to be away from the piles of fur. Kale had followed me trying to hide his amusement at my quick retreat. "You're cute when you're all girly," Kale said, stopping beside me as I bent down to pick up a stick.

Scowling, I grabbed the stick and turned to him annoyed. "I'm not girly," I defended. "I just don't like the idea of standing in dead fur."

He smirked, and it was then I noticed something was being held behind his back. My eyes widened. "Don't you dare!" He laughed and rushed forward, a handful of Appa's fur in his hand. "No Kale!" I cried, and then took off running. He was fast, being top of the class at warrior training, and in no time I was grabbed around the waist and fur was dropped on my head.

Screaming, I yanked away from Kale and batted at my hair to try and get the dead fur off of me. When I was certain I'd got it all, I turned and glared at Kale who laughed hard at my freak out. "Kale!" I shrieked, rushing forward to grab him and shove him down. He grinned and jerked out of the way causing me to go right past him. As I did I felt his arm wrap around my waist once more and my body was pressed against him. We both fell on the ground, Kale cushioning my fall as we hit the earth.

As Kale laughed more, I blushed deep red when I found my face pressed against his chest and his strong arm was still around my waist. "Sorry Amber," he managed to finally say after another few seconds of laughing. "I couldn't resist."

It was obvious I should've been furious with him for throwing dead fur all over me, but deep down I knew I couldn't be mad at him. He was just joking around, and I actually liked that about him. He was so carefree at times. Sighing, I tried to roll off of Kale, but instead he pulled me up so my face was right above his and our lips were only inches apart. "You forgive me?"

Smiling, I pressed my forehead to his and closed my eyes as I felt his breath on me. "Of course I do." His lips met my own then, and I melted into his kiss enjoying the moment. When we pulled apart, he smiled up at me with those deep eyes I loved so much. "But…" I said, and I saw Kale's eyes widen a bit surprised that there was a 'but'. "Don't think you're off the hook. I'll find some way to get you back for this."

He smirked and suddenly rolled us over so he was the one on top and I was on the bottom. During this big turn of events I gasped, and now as I lied on the ground with Kale holding onto both my wrists, I was out of breath and flustered. "Will you now? Is that a challenge?" he asked, leaning down so his face was mere inches from my own.

"Um… Yeah…" I said, though I wasn't really sure.

He leaned forward then, his nose touching my own. "I'll be waiting then."

A throat cleared suddenly, and we both immediately rolled away from one another surprised by out intruder. Sitting a good six inches apart, we looked up to see Sokka standing about three feet from us, and he looked very annoyed. "I can't leave you two alone for five minutes, can I?"

My heart pounded in my ears, and I knew my cheeks were beat red. Looking over at Kale, I saw he was a bit flustered himself.

Sokka stepped over to me and stopped when his shadow fell over me. "I told you to stay six inches from him."

Smiling weakly, I said, "You didn't say when."

He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "I thought it would be clear I meant at all times."

Standing up, I crossed my arms too. "Chill, Sokka. Kale and I were just-"

"I don't want to know," he said, cutting me off with his hand in my face. "Keep your mushy stuff to yourself. All I want to know is when you plan on getting that fire wood?"

Rolling my eyes, I smiled over at Kale who was already on his two feet and smiling back. "I'll be back in a bit," I promised, then turned to go fetch more sticks. Sokka tagged along this time, saying he'd give me company in case it got dark.

When we managed to get enough wood for the fire we started to head back toward camp. The sun was lowering in the sky and it was growing darker by the second. As we walked side by side, I looked over at Sokka who was looking at the ground in deep thought.

"Hey Sokka…" I began after a moment of quiet.

"Yeah?" he asked, looking over at me now with question.

"I know I don't say it much, but I do mean what I'm about to say… You're an amazing older brother, and even though were not related by blood and all, I'm glad I was placed in the water tribe so I could have you as a sibling," I said.

He sighed and I felt him step a bit closer to me so are arms were almost brushing one another. "I'm glad you were too. And I'm sorry I overreacted with Kale back there. I guess it's just my brotherly instincts kicking in."

Smiling, I said, "It's okay. I'm glad to have such an amazing protector."

Another moment passed, till suddenly Sokka asked, "Do you think Zuko would do the same, if you were with him?"

His question took me a bit off guard, and I frowned as I looked down in thought. "He once did a long time ago… He would always protect me and watch out for me. But that was when we both lived very different lives. Now I don't really even know him anymore, so I'm not sure if he would."

Sokka stopped walking, and I stopped as well. Looking at him with question, I saw his eyes tighten with an emotion I couldn't decipher. "I think he would… When we were at the North Pole, I heard Katara tell me how he begged her to save you when you were severely injured. I think if he didn't care about you and want to protect you, he would have just left you in the snow to die."

At Sokka's words I felt my heart sting a bit. I did remember Katara telling me that story, about how if Zuko hadn't been there I'd probably have died. Smiling a bit, I felt my eyes water as I pictured Zuko. No matter how much occurred in our lives, and how far we were torn from one another, I knew there was still a brother sister bond there that would never be broken.

For the first time ever, I missed my older brother Zuko greatly.

"Yeah… Maybe your right," I said softly. Then we continued to walk in silence, both of us in deep thought.

By the time we returned to the campsite I found Kale was already helping to set up the tents. Sokka and I dropped the wood we collected in the center of the campsite and I lit a fire to shed light over the dark air. As we all worked together to put up the tents and prepare to cook dinner, I noticed Toph was seated against a rock just chilling. At first I was about to say something, but I decided I didn't want to start something with her.

As I started up some supper for all of us, I heard Katara walk over to Toph to try and get her to help. "So Toph, usually when setting up camp we try to divide up the work," she said standing in front of the girl who didn't even move when Katara spoke.

"Hey, don't worry about me. I'm good to go," she said, then closed her eyes as she lied back on the dirt.

Katara's jaw dropped but she remained cool as she said, " Well, actually, what I'm trying to say is, uh, some of us might fetch water while someone else might set up the fire pit or put up the tent." Momo suddenly flew over and dropped some nuts in Katara's hand, then flew away. "Even Momo does his fair share."

" Katara, I'm fine. I can carry my own weight. I don't need a fire, I've already collected my own food, and look…" Toph used earth bending to create a rocky tent over her. "My tent's all set up."

As Katara went to say something else, I stood from the soup I was making and walked over. "I think what Katara is trying to say Toph, is that if you're in this group, then you have to work with us. We're a team, so you're now a part of this team. That means that even if you're all set up, you still have to help others."

Toph smirked. "Look Princess… I'm here to teach Aang. That doesn't mean I'm part of your so called team. Yes I joined you, and I want to be your friend, but being a team member just isn't me. So I don't really understand what the problem is?"

Katara sighed, muttering, "Never mind." Turning she left to get back to work, and it was then I noticed the guys were watching what was going on.

Turning back to Toph who was lying under her earth tent, I said with a weak smile, "You know… If you help out, maybe you'll see that being on a team isn't as bad as you make it to be. If it wasn't for my family, Kale, and Aang, I wouldn't be where I am to this day. A team is family Toph. If you want to be a part of this family, then have a heart and help us out."

She sat up saying, "You know… You're words really mean a lot."

Immediately I knew she was being sarcastic, and I rolled my eyes muttering, "Whatever… Just think about what I said." Turning I walked away from Toph and headed back to the soup.

As I finished preparing the food, and I placed some in a bowl for everyone we sat around the fire eating and enjoying the warmth of the flames. Looking back over at Toph I saw she was still in her earth tent and there was a piece of straw in her mouth. Staring at the bowl I filled up for Toph, I sighed placing my half eaten bowl in front of me. Standing I made my way over to her, and as I did I earned looks of question from my family.

Placing the bowl at the mouth of her tent, I said, "Look Toph… I know how you feel. You're living a whole new life now, and you're away from your family, not to mention your traveling with a bunch of strangers. You're probably not used to meeting new people, and I know this is tough for you. Isolating yourself from everyone though… it isn't really going to help."

Toph sighed and sat up so she was somewhat looking my way, though I'm sure she could only see me through the earth. "I'm not isolating myself from anyone… I'm just saying that I see no need for me to help when I'm not even using your resources."

Biting my lip I looked over at the others and saw them watching us from where they sat. Turning back, I said trying to remain calm, "Well Aang doesn't sleep in a tent or sleeping bag, but he still helps. I'm not saying you have to Toph, but it would be nice if you could maybe help find wood, or maybe make the fire pit, or even help us put together supper. We're all-"

"Yeah, you said it before: _A team. _Look Princess… I'm here because you told me to choose my own path. You invited me to come, and so I did by taking your advice. Don't get mad at me for not doing anything, when I'm about to teach Aang and save the world."

Rolling my eyes, I turned away now annoyed and muttered, "Fine Toph. Do whatever you want."

When I walked back to the others, I saw they weren't sure what to do about Toph. We decided not to worry about and after cleaning up dinner we all went to sleep. Katara and I slept in our tent, while Sokka and Kale slept in the other tent, Aang slept beside Appa, and Toph slept in her isolated rock. Her and Katara had a bit of a tizzy before we went to sleep, but things eventually calmed and we were able to drift.

"_Wake up Amber… You have to leave!"_ Roku shouted, causing me to wake with a start.

Groaning, I pulled my sleeping bag over my face and said half asleep, "Ten more minutes."

"_Amber! Your sister is coming!"_

This part made me jump again, and this time I was awake. Quickly I crawled out of my tent and ran across the campsite. We were on a hill that overlooked the valley below, so I could see through the light of the small moon a strange object coming toward us. From what I could tell it was a giant machine that was powered by steam.

Oh crap! Roku was telling the truth.

Immediately I shouted, "Guys! We've got to go!"

The only person to really move was Toph, who rushed out of her tent and cried, "Amber's right! There's something coming toward us, and it's big!"

Everyone emerged from their tents then, Aang already standing beside us with question and droopy eyes. Kale, Sokka, and Katara looked half out of it as they tried to wake up. "What is it?" Aang asked, rubbing his eyes.

Toph answered, "It feels like an avalanche… But also not like an avalanche."

Sokka rolled his eyes muttering, "Your powers of perception are frightening."

Stepping forward I immediately gave my own explanation. "It's not an avalanche. It's my sister. She somehow found us and is on her way."

"How do you know that?" Katara asked, amazed I knew such a thing.

Frowning, I looked down a bit nervous they'd all think me a freak. "Avatar Roku told me."

A laugh rang from the group and we all turned in surprise to stare at Toph. She realized none of us were laughing with her, and she immediately stopped having a puzzled look. "That was a joke right? There's no way she spoke to a dead dude."

"Sorry Toph…" Katara said. "We haven't caught you up to speed yet. Amber's a-"

"There's no time to explain," Kale suddenly said. "If it is Azula coming, then we need to pack up camp quickly and fly out of here. She'll capture us all if we don't hurry."

Katara, Aang, and Sokka sighed, turning to pack up the tents and supplies. As they did that Kale and I wrapped up the sleeping bags and managed to carry all our supplies back onto Appa's saddle. The whole time we did Toph just sat there, waiting for us to leave. As much as I was glad Toph was here to teach Aang, she was starting to get annoying with this lazy nature of hers.

When we finally loaded up one Appa, who was very exhausted from the day's flight, we headed off into the sky trying to get away from my sister. As we went we all looked back at the valley below, and now everyone could see the machine my sister was in. It was like an iron long rectangular ship, only it was on lad and moving by steam. It was fast too, and left a cloud of dust behind it as it raced toward the spot we'd been.

Trusting what Roku spoke, I frowned as I looked down at the giant machine Azula was most likely inside. Why was she after us, and more importantly the avatar? Did father send her when he saw Zuko was having no luck capturing Aang? It almost made me outraged to know dad had given up on Zuko and sent Azula in his place.

If Azula was chasing after the avatar, then what happened to Zuko? Was he captured by father and imprisoned? The thought made me worry deeply.

As we flew for a good thirty minutes we noticed Aang was starting to sway and Appa was lowering to the ground. At once we made Aang land Appa on a grassy hill, and we all once more tried to set up camp. We decided not to put tents up, and just grabbed the sleeping bags.

"Maybe we lost them," I tiredly said, helping Kale put down the sleeping bags.

He yawned as he placed down his own sleeping bag. "I sure hope so, because I could really use some sleep."

We continued to set up camp, though we noticed Toph hadn't done anything to help once again; she'd just grabbed her own bag and began to walk off saying, "See you guys in the morning!"

We all looked like we wanted to say something, but we all decided we were too tired to fight tonight. All of us except for Katara who said, "Actually, can you help us unload?"

Toph looked back at us and said to her, "Really? You need me to help you unload Sokka's funky-smelling sleeping bag?" To make the situation worse, I saw Sokka take a whiff of his sleeping bag and cringe. Aang and Kale tried not to laugh at my brother's foolishness.

"Yeah… That and everything else. You're a part of our team now and-"

She interrupted Katara with irritation, "Look… I didn't ask you to help unload _my_ stuff. I'm carrying my own weight. And just like I told Princess over there, I don't need a team." Toph then started to walk away, but I knew Katara wasn't done.

"That's not the point! Ever since joining us you've been nothing but selfish and unhelpful!"

Me and the guys shot one another looks of uncertainty as the two girls continued to fight. Toph was next in this little catfight, snapping, "What?! Look here sugar queen! I gave up everything I had so I could teach Aang earth bending, so don't you talk to me about being selfish!" She then walked away from Katara, plopped down in the dirt, and created an earth tent once more.

"Sugar queen!" Katara shrieked, then stepped forward. Toph closed her tent so Katara wouldn't be able to get inside. "Di- Did you just slam the door in my face!" Katara was pounding and kicking on the tent door now, her face going red from fury.

Immediately I rushed forward to intervene, grabbing Katara by the shoulder and pulling her back. "Calm down… You know no matter what you do it isn't going to change Toph. Just stop and leave her alone. If she wants to be a part of the team, then she'll have to decide that on her own."

Katara calmed and walked away deciding she was too tired to fight Toph anymore. It was probably two in the morning as we all crawled into our sleeping bags and tried to sleep again. We couldn't do that however, because Katara had opened her big mouth. "The stars sure are beautiful tonight. Too bad you can't see them Toph!"

Groaning, I pulled my sleeping bag over my face wishing they'd just knock it off and go to sleep. The earth next to me suddenly shifted and I heard Katara shriek as her body suddenly landed somewhere else. Looking out from under my sleeping bag I saw she'd landed on Sokka, and he didn't look happy. Shoving her off, he sat up saying, "Hey! How is a guy supposed to sleep with all this yelling and earth quaking?"

"That thing is back!" Toph suddenly shouted, sliding her tent door down and scrambling out.

Groaning again, I sat up wishing it wasn't true. Sokka must have felt the same. "Well, how far away is it?" Sokka lied back and covered his head with his sleeping bag. "Maybe we can close our eyes just for a few minutes."

Looking in the distance, I could see from the light of the moon the smoke was only a few miles away. "I wish we could… But I think we have to go now."

Exhausted and pleading for much needed sleep, we all climbed on Appa who groaned in aggravation that he couldn't sleep either. The only one who was actually sleeping was Momo, and he was lucky because we could actually carry him. As we flew this time, we decided to seek higher ground hoping maybe the giant machine wouldn't be able to climb.

When we finally landed again on another grassy hill, we all dropped off of Appa beyond exhausted. Sokka, Kale, and Aang all plopped down where they landed as Sokka said, "Okay. Forget about setting up camp. I'm finding the softest pile of dirt and falling asleep."

"That's good," Katara muttered. "Because Toph wasn't going to help anyway."

Toph, who was already plopped down in the dirt, snapped, "Oh I didn't realize baby still needed someone to tuck her into bed."

Aang spoke this time, trying to calm everyone down. "Come on guys, there's something after us that may or may not be Amber's sister Azula. Let's try to get as much sleep as we can."

Katara lied down in the dirt now, while I just sat. "It could be Zuko. We haven't seen him since the North Pole."

"I don't think it's him this time," I said softly, feeling it in my gut.

"Who's Zuko?" Toph asked.

Sokka answered, "Oh, just some angry freak with a ponytail whose tracked us all over the world and happens to be Amber's older brother."

Sighing, I pulled my knees to my chest saying, "I know it isn't him. Even if I don't always want to listen to Roku, I believe him this time. I have a gut feeling it isn't my brother."

Kale was the one to speak this time. "We believe you, Amber… Now everyone go to sleep."

As we all began to drift once more, Momo began to make noises and we all groaned wishing the little lemur would shut up. Sokka quickly shushed the creature saying, "No Momo… Sleepy time."

Momo continues his rant and I had a feeling I knew what the little guy was so jumpy about. "No! Why?" I whined, getting up from the dirt and walking to the edge of the hill. There in the distance was once again the giant machine, heading straight toward us.

"Don't tell me," Sokka whined. Everyone was standing now, and they all came over to stop beside me and look at the machine.

"That's impossible! There's no way they could've tracked us," Aang cried.

Toph weakly said, "I can feel it with my own two feet."

"Let's get out of here!" Katara ordered.

Aang stopped us. "Maybe we should face them. If it's not by chance Amber's sister, then maybe whoever's in it is friendly."

"Always the optimist," Sokka muttered.

My eyes widened as I realized we were going to do what Aang said. If it was my sister then she'd capture us all in a flash. There had to be another way to get away from her. Just as I thought this, the machine came to a stop, and we all watched with terror. The ramp to the machine lowered, and sure enough three lizard like creatures emerged from machine. As I looked closer and could see better from the rising sun, I saw my sister in the middle, with Mai and Ty Lee on both sides of her. Reunion number two was on its way.

"It's those three girls from Omashu! It is Amber's sister!" Katara cried.

Toph stood now and tightened her fists. "We can take them. Four on three!"

Looking a bit puzzled, I shot Kale a look saying, _Four?_

"Actually Toph, there's six of us," Sokka said.

Toph smirked. "Oh. Sorry. I didn't count you and Kale. You know, no bending and all."

Sokka and Kale both looked outraged and shouted at the same time, "I can still fight!"

Toph sighed, "Okay. Okay. Four on three, plus the two no benders."

As the lizard like beasts approached us now, I said, "Look, as much as I would _love_ to see my sister again… I say we get out of here fast!"

Everyone agreed and we all rushed onto Appa who didn't look one bit happy. As we flew away again, Katara said to me, "I can't believe your crazy sister and her friends followed us all the way from Omashu."

Sighing, I pulled my knees to my chest. "She'll do anything to get what she wants. She always has."

Toph scowled, "I still think we could've taken them."

Katara cried, "Are you kidding? The crazy blue fire bending and the flying daggers are bad enough, but last time we saw them one of those girls did something that took my bending away. That's scary."

At this I was a bit surprised. "Ty Lee can take someone's bending away?"

Katara shivered when I asked. "I don't know how, but when she hit me it was like my bending was blocked; like she put some type of lock inside me that I couldn't break through."

Kale frowned. "It's called chi blocking. I've seen it done before back at the palace. It's when a person can hit someone right in their weak spot and block their bending abilities. Only the greatest fighters of the fire nation know how to do it, and that's only like three or four. Ty Lee must've learned it from one of them or on her own."

We all frowned at this new information. So Ty Lee had learned a new skill over the years I'd been away from her. Guess I didn't really know a lot about my friends anymore.

After flying for another hour the sun had shown itself over the horizon and we all wished it would go away. Now none of us would sleep. We ended up having to land eventually, because Appa fell asleep in the sky. Landing (or more like crashing) in a forest area, we all heard Appa snore as he lied on the ground completely worn out.

Sliding off of the giant beast, we all began to get ready to follow his lead, but a fight sprung up again, and this time it was bad.

"We could have gotten some sleep earlier if Toph didn't have so many issues!" Katara snapped.

Toph jumped up from where she lied shouting, "What!"

As the fight continued I began to doze off, not really wanting to be a part of it anymore. When I faded back in though I heard Toph shout, "Besides! If there's anyone to blame it's sheddy over here!" Opening my eyes, I looked over to see Toph grab a clump of Appa's fur and drop it on the ground. "You wanna know how they keep finding us? It's because he's leaving a trail everywhere we go!"

Aang looked red in the face as Toph accused his best friend. "How dare you blame Appa! He saved your life three times today! If there's anyone to blame, it's you! You're always talking about how you carry your own weight, but you're not! He is! Appa's carrying your weight! He never had a problem flying when it was just the five of us!"

Now I was up on my feet wide awake, and I rushed in between Aang and Toph trying to take control of the situation. "Hey! There's no need for that!"

Toph scowled and picked up her bag tossing it on her shoulder. "I'm out of here!" She turned and started to walk off, and I watched her go with horror. If she left, Aang would never learn earth bending.

"Toph! Wait!" I cried, rushing forward to grab her shoulder and stop her. She threw earth up behind her creating a wall so I almost ran into it.

"Leave me alone! I don't want to hear about your team anymore, Princess!" Toph snapped, and then she ran off into the forest.

Silence passed, and I turned to the others wondering what they were all thinking. Aang looked surprised with himself, while Katara was filled with regret, Kale seemed a bit unsure, and Sokka looked horrified. Biting my lip, I debated what I should do. If Toph left, then Aang wouldn't have an earth bending teacher, and then Sozin's comet would arrive allowing my father to have unbelievable power. He'd surely destroy the earth kingdom if Aang wasn't able to master all four elements.

"_You have to go after her,"_ Roku practically ordered. _"She's Aang's only hope."_

At first I wanted to just ignore Roku and tell him to buzz off, but I knew he was right. No matter what, Toph needed to teach Aang earth bending. Also she was a twelve year old girl running off into the woods alone, and I felt bad letting her go off on her own.

"I'm going after her," I said. "If she leaves then we'll never get Aang an earth bending teacher in time!"

"What?! Amber! Wait!" Kale shouted, but I was already running into the woods in the direction I hoped Toph had gone. As I ran I thought in my head over and over that if I didn't find Toph, then there was no way we'd find another earth bending teacher for Aang.

It seemed like an hour that I ran through the endless forest, and I began to fear greatly that I'd lost Toph for good and had gotten lost myself. Slowing to a walk, I tried to catch my breath and just started walking through the sunlit forest. The trees shaded me as I walked, and I listened to the sounds of the creatures as they lurked around me. My body was exhausted from no sleep last night, so I was using all my strength to stay awake.

"Toph!" I called, wishing I would just find her already and convince her to come back.

Truth was I felt bad for her. She had given up her whole life to be with us, and the people she trusted had pretty much told her she was a terrible person and wasn't welcome. In some way I felt responsible, because I too had yelled at her. My heart hurt at the thought of being the reason Toph left.

Suddenly the forest came to an end, and my eyes widened when I saw nothing but desert sand before me. It was like I was entering a whole new world. Looking around, I saw nothing but sand in front of me, and I backed up not sure if going out in the desert was such a good idea. Then I began to fear Toph had gone through the desert, and so I knew I had to.

Rushing forward, I began to trek through the sand hoping and praying to the spirits that I would find Toph quickly. The sun was beating down hard on me, and I knew my exposed skin on my arms would burn if I didn't find shade soon. It seemed like I walked through the desert for an hour, but I knew it was only thirty minutes, when I approached a very dilapidated town.

The town was more like ruins, and the stone buildings were old and busted. As I got closer to the town, I saw the buildings were burned and pieces of furniture and pottery were shattered everywhere. The fire nation had raided this place, and left it to be a ghost town. This fact made me hate the fire nation even more. As I continued to walk past the empty broken buildings, I once more began to call for Toph. If she had somehow ended up in this area, then maybe she'd taken refuge in one of the buildings for shade.

Walking by another building, I suddenly gasped when a strong hand grabbed my mouth and yanked my body inside. As I struggled in my captors hold, I felt his strong arm wrap around my waist which also locked both arms to my sides. With a muffled scream, I tried to fight off my strong captor with my elbows and feet, but I heard a familiar voice say, "Amber… Calm down. It's me."

My eyes widened and I immediately calmed when I heard Zuko speak. He let me go when he saw I stopped struggling, and I turned to him with amazement. From the light coming from outside of the building, I saw my brother Zuko for the first time in what felt like months. He was different, with his black hair messy and much longer than before. He also looked like he'd gotten more sun, and his clothing was that of a commoner. He looked to have been living on the streets. Beside him stood an ostrich horse which I had no doubt he'd stolen.

Now that I looked over Zuko, I could tell a lot had happened since the North Pole. He must've been in hiding or something, and he'd put his hair this way as a disguise. He actually looked a lot better with his hair down and grown out anyway.

"Zuko… What are you doing here?"

He sighed, and crossed his arms. "I followed Azula here. She's heading into the city where I assume the avatar is. I'm not going to let her get him before me."

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped. What was Aang doing here? Then I thought about something.

"Wait… Were Mai and Ty Lee with her?" I asked.

He was a bit taken back by this and said, "Um… No. It was just her on this creepy lizard thing." This made me a bit worried. Did that mean Sokka, Katara, and Kale were probably facing Mai and Ty Lee then? And where was Toph?

"What are you doing here by the way?" Zuko suddenly asked. "I mean I'm glad to see you, don't get me wrong, but you don't seem to have arrived here with anyone."

Meeting my brothers gold eyes, I smiled weakly, "Well I was looking for a friend… but now I guess I'm protecting Aang."

My brother narrowed his eyes now, and I noticed he didn't like this answer. "And how are you going to do that? Are you going to fight me? Remember that Azula's the one you should be more worried about right now." Zuko then hopped on the ostrich horse and looked down at me with hard eyes. "Stay out of the way Amber. I don't want to hurt you." It was more of a warming than a suggestion, and I watched with terror as Zuko forced the animal forward so he could race to where Aang and Azula were.

With great concern that Zuko would hurt Aang and get hurt himself, I raced after him shouting, "Wait Zuko! Don't!"

Zuko ignored me, speeding up the beast and racing through the town toward where Aang and Azula were. Deep down I knew I was going to regret this, getting into a fight with both my fire nation siblings, but I had a duty to protect Aang and I also didn't want to see my good friend hurt.

Following the animals tracks through the abandoned ghost town, I rounded a corner to see Aang, Azula, and Zuko were in the center of the town and they all looked ready to fry each other. Zuko was in between Azula and Aang a bit, as if to tell them that Aang belonged to him. Tightening my fist, I tried hard not to light a flame and throw it at Azula as soon as I saw her. The sight of her made me a bit mad knowing it was her fault I didn't sleep once last night.

"Back off Azula! He's mine!" Zuko snapped, getting into a fighting stance as he prepared to fight Azula.

From where I stood I could see our sister scowl. "I'm not going anywhere!" She too got in a fighting stance ready to attack. Aang must've decided to prepare himself too, because he grabbed his staff tightly as he prepared to block whoever made the first move.

"_Amber! You must intervene! We can't allow Aang to be captured!" _Roku ordered.

"What do you want me to do?" I said under my breath. "Walk up to them and start a conversation."

"_If that works," _Roku said.

Rolling my eyes, I stepped forward into view deciding to get it over with and saying, "Well, well… I never expected this. Azula and Zuko, about to go head to head all so they can gain honor from some guy who could care less about his family. You know, you guys need to stop worrying about what dad thinks and start thinking for yourselves."

Everyone was startled when I spoke, and they all looked over at me amazed. Aang's eyes widened like he was seeing a ghost. "Amber! What are you doing here? I thought you were looking for Toph!"

Smiling weakly, I said, "Guess I took a wrong turn somewhere in the forest. I'm sure we'll find her later."

"Well, well… Amber," Azula said, sneering at me as her cold eyes met my guarded ones. "You're still a traitor I see. At least now you and Zuko have something in common."

Zuko growled and I saw his fists steam. "I'm not a traitor, Azula! I've never once not been loyal to father!"

As my brother and sister had a heated stare down, I looked at Aang and mouthed, 'Run'. He nodded and began to back away.

Azula shouted at Zuko as the avatar tried to sneak away, "Oh yeah! Then how come you haven't captured the avatar yet? Hmm… Oh I know! Because you don't want to! You're a traitor just like Amber!"

"Actually… Zuko's not a traitor. He really does want to capture Aang and bring him to dad," I said, trying to keep their attention from Aang, who was a good three yards away now.

My coldhearted sister cackled and then shot Zuko a smirk. "Aw, Zuzu… Looks like Amber's trying to defend you."

My brother shot me a look, and I was surprised when I read the emotion on his face. He was annoyed with me, and I assumed it had to be because I was defending him. It seemed he didn't want my help.

Azula suddenly growled and turned firing blue fire at Zuko who quickly blocked and fell back on the dirt hard. As this happened Aang grabbed his glider and tried to fly away, but Azula shot a wave of blue fire knocking Aang from the sky. He was able to use his staff to safely land, but I could tell Azula wasn't done. "No!" I shouted, running forward and lighting my own flame ready to help Aang. "Leave him alone!"

Shooting a blast at my sister, she quickly blocked my purple fire but it made her slide back a bit. As I shot another blast at her she dodged and my fire hit the stone wall of a building creating a hard explosion. Pieces of the building flew everywhere and I winced at how strong my flames really were. Azula looked at the crumbled wall with amazement, and then she turned back to me with rage.

"That's it! I'm tired of you Spirit Freak!" She hissed, and I watched with terror as she charged her hands with lightening preparing to strike.

Something hard smacked into my body shoving me to the ground just as the lightening shot toward me, and I gasped as I heard the strike above me and my savior. As I was pressed into the dirt, I heard Zuko snap, "Stay down! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Scowling, I hissed, "No. I'm trying to protect Aang."

He pressed me down harder. "Just stay out of this Amber, or I will hurt you," he threatened. Then Zuko rolled off of me, and as I tried to stand back up I saw him and Azula were chasing after Aang once more through the abandoned ghost town. They couldn't capture Aang… I knew I had to stop them. No matter how much I hated being Roku and Huo's little spirit girl, I wanted to protect Aang on my own choice. He was like a little brother to me.

Spitting the taste of dirt from my mouth, I tried to stand so I could get back to helping Aang. My vision became blurry though and I stumbled falling forward. It was probably because I hadn't slept in more than twenty four hours and I hadn't eaten or drink anything in what felt like forever. Not to mention the sun was beating down on me and sucking me dry. Usually the sun was a fire benders friend; today it was my enemy.

Just as I fell forward, I felt a familiar strong hand grab me by the shoulder and steady me. When I tiredly looked up to see who it was, my eyes widened to find Uncle Iroh looking at me with worry. "Are you alright, Amber?"

My uncle looked different too. Instead of having his gray hair in a topknot it was loose and long. His beard was also longer and his clothing were old and torn. Staring up into his gold eyes, I said, "Uncle… What are you doing here?"

He smiled weakly. "I couldn't let your brother come here alone. There's no telling what that boy will do next."

The sound of an explosion rang out across the town we were in, and I gasped looking over to see Zuko crash out of a building and land on the street hard. Worry filled inside me as I stared at Zuko, who lied on the ground groaning. "Zuko!" I cried, trying to rush over to him. Uncle Iroh stopped me again.

"Stay here Amber so you don't get hurt. I'll go help him," Uncle said, then took off toward Zuko.

This was getting a bit annoying. Was everyone worried I'd get myself killed or something? I'd taken warrior classes in the North Pole and I'd escaped more near death experiences than I could count.

The sound of a crash echoed through the town suddenly and I gasped searching for where the sound had come from. Just as I went to step forward, I heard Kale's voice shout, "Amber! What the spirits were you thinking running off on your own?!" Turning to look behind me, I widened my eyes in surprise when suddenly Kale threw his arms around me and pulled me into his warm embrace. "You had me worried sick!"

Pulling away from him, I looked up into his brown eyes feeling a bit dumbfounded to see him, and ashamed for making him worry. "Sorry… I was trying to stop Toph, but I have a bad sense of direction I guess." He laughed a bit and hugged me closer to him, relieved to see I was alright. Closing my eyes, I smiled glad to be in his arms. It was cut short though, because we both heard the sound of fire blasts being shot in the background.

Pulling away from Kale again, I turned to see Azula was in a battle against Sokka, Aang, and Katara, the buildings around them blazing with bright orange fire. They all had formed an arch around Azula and were fighting her. She seemed unfazed as she shot fire at my water tribe family and Aang, only making me worry for their safety. "We have to go help them," I said. Kale and I immediately rushed over to where my sister Azula was throwing her blue fire at everyone, and just as she fired again the ground beneath her shifted sending her to the ground with an 'oof'.

That could only mean one thing. As we arrived where the others stood, I was relieved to see Toph standing on the other side of where my sister was still on the ground. She looked like she was enjoying having Azula's face in the dirt. "Toph! I'm glad you're here. I was looking everywhere for you."

She smirked. "You went the wrong way then, Princess."

Blushing a bit in embarrassment, I said, "I know… I have to work on following people. It's not one of my best skills."

Katara and Sokka smiled over at me, glad to see I was okay. "At least you made it out of the forest," Katara said.

"Yeah… That's a relief," I responded with a weak smile.

Azula stood now, her eyes shooting at me with fire in them. "My big sis Amber… She always seems to make more and more friends as the days go by..." She sneered. "You're becoming the greatest traitor of the fire nation as we speak. Conspiring with these water tribe peasants, earth bending chick, and the avatar. When father gets a hold of you, you'll wish you had died nine years ago." She then looked over at Kale and smirked again. "Ah, and I see you've managed to make another traitor too."

Kale stepped a bit in front of me as if to protect me incase Azula attacked. Frowning at my sister, I calmly pulled Kale back to let him know I wasn't afraid. He looked like he wanted to protest, but he decided I knew what I was doing and backed up so he was right beside me.

Looking back at my sister, I asked, "Why are you doing this Azula? Can't you see that father doesn't care squat about any of his children? No matter what you do, father will never give you the honor you seek." She didn't like the words I spoke, because I saw her hands tighten into fists and steam began to flow from them.

"What would you know about father? You haven't seen him for over nine years," she hissed. "I'm done with you. With all of you!" Then she backed away and turned to run. She didn't get very far, because as soon as she turned she bumped into Uncle Iroh and stumbled backward a bit. Catching herself quickly, she looked around at the eight people surrounding her in both terror and uncertainty. Zuko had arrived with Uncle and looked ready to slice our sister in half.

As we all prepared to fight, Azula frowned and held her hands up in surrender saying to us all, "Well, look at this. Enemies and traitors all working together... I'm done. I know when I'm beaten. You got me. A princess surrenders with honor."

Her words were deceitful, that I could immediately tell. Tightening my fist, I watched her eyes as they showed nothing but lies. Some of the others let their guards down a bit, but I stayed guard. As I watched my sister, something flashed through my mind.

_Agony… Pain… Blue Fire… Death... You will die to save another. _

Why was I thinking of that fortune all of the sudden? It had been weeks since those words had bothered me, so why were they hitting me so suddenly? Then it hit me. Azula was the blue fire Aunt Wu had spoken about so long ago. If Azula was the blue fire, then that meant this could be the moment Aunt Wu spoke of: The moment I would sacrifice myself for another. As a smirk pulled on Azula's face, my eyes widened as her hands charged and she suddenly shot a blast of lightening toward uncle.

"No!" I screamed, running forward as the lightening traveled toward the one man that I truly cared for. As the lightning struck him in the chest, I shoved into Azula slamming her on the ground. Both of our bodies crashed to the earth as I pressed her down screaming, "You monster!" She sneered at me, and in a single second her fist punched me in the face knocking the wind out of me. As I fell off of her, I saw through blurry eyes water, fire, earth, and air get shot at my sister. As smoke surrounded my sight, I coughed and covered my eyes as it burned them and made them sting. When I was able to see again, Azula was gone, and the town fell quiet as if death had surrounded it.

Silence passed as the dirt settled, and I weakly stood on my feet searching for my uncle. When I saw him I felt dread fill inside me. He was lying there on the dirt covered ground, his body still and his eyes closed. Zuko knelt beside him, and I could see he was shaking as tears fell from his eyes. Katara, Sokka, Aang, Toph, and Kale all stood to the side, none of them sure what to do to help with this situation.

With pain building inside me, I stepped forward feeling my own tears begin to cascade down my cheeks. As I approached, Zuko suddenly shouted, "Get away from us!" His broken eyes shot threatening looks toward everyone - even me- and they backed up warily. Even after everything Zuko had done to us in the past, I could tell Aang and the others felt sympathetic toward him.

Katara stepped a bit closer to my brother and unconscious uncle saying, "Zuko… I can help!" I knew what she meant. She had healing abilities, and she could save my uncles life. Zuko wouldn't have that though. He let out a blast of fire causing my sister to scramble backwards as he shouted, "Leave!"

Everyone decided there was nothing they could do, and with broken hearts they turned and started to head away from Zuko and my dying uncle. My chest tightened as I stared at my uncle whose chest was badly burned and his breathing was hard and labored.

It was supposed to be me… I was supposed to sacrifice myself and save him. Why didn't the fortune come true? My uncle would probably die, and it was all because I didn't stop Azula in enough time. Shutting my eyes, I tried hard not to scream at the top of my lungs in fury.

A hand took my arm suddenly, and I heard Sokka say, "Come on Amber… We have to go." He started to pull me along, but my feet wouldn't move. They wouldn't move because I didn't want to go. It was time to make a choice. A choice I knew would not make the spirits happy, or my water tribe siblings.

"_Amber! Your uncle will be fine! You must stay with Aang," _Roku shouted, reading my mind and knowing what I intended to do.

No matter how much I wanted to help Aang and the others, I knew I had to stay. This was my uncle… The one man who truly loved me back at the fire nation. He was like a father to me, and I refused to leave him when he needed me most. I'd abandoned him and Zuko in the past before, and I knew now was not the time to do it again.

Sorry Roku, but I'm choosing my own path at the moment. You and Huo can just sit back and let me live my life.

Pulling from Sokka, I said trying hard to hold in my sobs, "I can't… I can't leave not knowing if my uncles okay."

Kale came in front of me then, his hand grabbing my shoulder as he looked into my eyes with agony. "Amber… Iroh would want you to stay with Aang. He wouldn't want you to leave your friends for him."

Shaking my head, I yanked from him as well crying, "I don't care! I'm tired of doing what everyone else wants! I'm staying! I won't abandon him when he needs me!" When I said him, I wasn't sure if I was just talking about Iroh or Zuko as well.

Everyone looked a bit taken back by my reaction, and I saw Sokka torn by my words. He didn't want me to stay here, but at the same time he knew he couldn't force me. Tears filled in Katara's eyes as she realized what I was saying. Aang and Toph hung back, and I saw they too were upset knowing what I was about to do.

"Amber… Think about what you're about to do… If you stay with them, then there's no telling when we'll see you again," Sokka said, his eyes going moist as he realized too what was about to happen. He didn't want to be separated from me.

My face was drenched in tears, and I looked away from everyone as I said with a broken heart, "I love you all more than anything… And I know this is me being selfish," Looking back up, I met Sokka's eyes once more. "But I have to do this. I can't leave my uncle like this. I'll never be at peace with myself not knowing if he's alive."

Everyone around me was silent as they took in what I spoke. Wiping my face, I tried to stop crying and stay strong. This was for the best. This was my choice. It was time to make my own decisions and stop letting others rule my life.

Arms suddenly encircled me, and my eyes widened as my sister hugged me close to her. "I'll miss you so much," she whispered, her own tears staining my shirt as she tightened her old. "Is this really what you want… To stay with your uncle?"

Nodding, I hugged her back glad to know she was so understanding.

"Then just promise me one thing," she said, her voice controlled as she tried to stay strong for me. "Promise me you'll take care of yourself?"

"I promise," I whispered. "I'll be fine, and I'll see you all again soon."

She pulled away from me after another few seconds, and then her arms were replaced almost immediately by Sokka's. He held me close as he said, "I don't want to say goodbye, but I know this is what you want. If we force you to come with us, then I know you'll be heartbroken… So I know I have to let you do this. I'm proud of you, Amber… I know you'll be okay."

"She will be okay," Kale suddenly said. Sokka pulled away and we both looked at him with question. "I'm staying with her."

It was with these words I saw Sokka relax. Looking at Kale, I felt grateful that he was sticking by my side. That's why I loved him… Because no matter what he was always there for me. "Are you sure?" I asked, not wanting him to do this and regret it later. "You don't have to-"

He smiled weakly cutting me off. "There's no way I'm letting you out of my sight. I just got you back." Smiling, I rushed forward and hugged him tightly, glad I had him in my life.

As Aang and Toph wished me and Kale good luck and said a painful goodbye, I watched with a heavy heart as they began to leave. Sokka said something to Kale before he left, and I saw Kale nod in response. I assumed it was something about keeping me safe. As my water tribe family, Aang, and Toph walked away, I felt my heart sting as we were parted more and more. As much as I hated this good-bye, I knew this was what I wanted.

Iroh needed me… And so did Zuko.

A hand took my own, and I looked at Kale with tear stained cheeks. "I'm right beside you," Kale promised, and at that moment I knew I wasn't alone.

Nodding, I turned back to where Zuko was still crying over Iroh's body. Rushing over to him, I shoved my brother aside and immediately inspected the wound from Azula's lightning strike. To my relief, it had missed Uncle's heart and all his major arteries. There was a chance I could save him, and I was taking it. Zuko recovered from being pushed over and looked at me with fury. "What are you doing here? I told you to leave!"

Glaring at my brother, I hissed, "Shut up! He's my uncle too! Don't think I don't care about him any less than you do!" Zuko was taken aback by this and seemed to not know what to say. Seeing that he was no longer going to try and force me to leave I went into full doctor mode, my only goal being now to save my uncles life.

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**Well that's this chapter. I'm sure some of you won't be happy I chose to have Amber stay with Zuko and Iroh, but that's how I had it planned in my head for the last few weeks I've been writing this story. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and want to read more. Thanks for the reviews, and also thanks to everyone who is reading along. You all mean a lot to me.**

**~Faithy Waithy**


	9. Burning Spirit

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took a while. I started classes and haven't had much time to write. Here's the next chapter though, and I hope you all enjoy. Thanks for the reviews. =)**

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Using the torn rag Kale had managed to find in one of the abandoned buildings, I wiped away the beads of sweat that trailed down uncle Iroh's forehead. He still had a fever, but thankfully it was almost gone. Smiling weakly, pulled the rag away and sat it down beside where I knelt. Uncle had woken for over twenty four hours, but at least he was breathing normally now and didn't seem to be in as much pain.

As soon as I'd started working on Uncle Iroh yesterday, I ordered Kale to run into the town and find any type of medicine, bandages, or something I could use to treat him. As Kale ran off to do that Zuko and I both used our weight to put Uncle's arms over our shoulder so we could get him out of the sun. When we managed after a few minutes to pull him in a building away from the ones Azula set on fire, I found some clothes scattered on the ground and made a pillow with them to rest Iroh's head on. Zuko watched me as I worked, and I met his eyes every now and then seeing something flash through them. He was relieved that someone had stayed.

We'd both managed pull up part of Uncles shirt then so I could examine the wound. His skin was terribly blistered from where it was burned and most likely scarred. Also I could tell the lightening had traveled through him when it hit, but leaning my head down I listened to his heart and to my relief it was steady. The struck area looked painful and there was no doubt it would scar, but to my relief his breathing was normal and his heart sounded unharmed. All I had to really do was treat the burn and wrap it up before it did get infected.

Kale got back with a handful of supplies then, and I smiled with gratefulness. As he sat everything he'd found down beside me, I'd almost shrieked in joy and kissed him right where we were. He'd found some medicine for infection, burn cream, a bunch of other herbs that would treat the wound as well as help the pain, and to my utter relief some bandages. Thanking him with a smile, I set to work cleaning the area and rubbing the burn cream on the spot. Uncle winced a few times as I treated the area, but when I finished he sighed and went back into his peaceful oblivion.

Finally I put the bandages on, and both Zuko and Kale helped lift Iroh to allow me to do so. When I made sure the bandages were on firmly and protecting the wound from infection, they lowered him back on the pillow where he unconsciously lay for the rest of the day and night.

As things calmed a bit and Zuko worried a bit less, he finally noticed Kale for the first time and shot him a puzzled look. "Who are you?"

Kale scowled at him and crossed his arms annoyed. "That's typical for you royalty. You don't even recognize the one servant who's been serving you guy's tea for years. At least when I was shipped off to the fire nation village they treated me like an equal and knew my name."

They both shared a heated stare, and I frowned at how this meeting was not going the way I wanted it to. Weakly, I said, "Calm down guys…" Then I introduced Kale to Zuko. "Zuko, this is Kale. He used to work at the palace and was my very close friend."

When I said the last part I could tell Zuko immediately realized who he was. "The stupid servant boy from the palace?! You're the one Amber used to run off to in the middle of the night! I remember you!" Zuko stood now, towering over Kale with tightened fists. Kale stood as well and touched the hilt of his sword ready to fight.

"Stop!" I cried, standing as well and stepping in between the both of them. "Look… We're all tired, hungry, and thirsty. Let's all just calm down and try to clear our minds for a moment. There's no need to fight."

Zuko continued to tighten his fist. "Why are you with my sister?"

Kale gritted his teeth as he tightened his hold on his sword hilt. "Because I can do whatever I want, Prince boy. What are you going to do… burn me?"

My brother stepped forward. "Sounds tempting."

"Stop," I cried, holding up my hands so one was on Zuko's chest and the other was on Kale's. "Just stop! There's no need for any of that!"

They both shared another heated glare, then I felt Zuko yank away from my hand muttering, "I'm going to find some food and water." Turning, he stomped out of the building we were in and Kale relaxed a bit backing away from my hand as well. Deciding the danger of having my boyfriend fried or my brother stabbed was gone I sighed with relief and turned back to Uncle.

As the hours passed I saw Kale and Zuko had calmed a bit and none of them were going to attack anyone. Now as I placed the rag back in the bucket of water Zuko had gotten from a well nearby, I wet the rag once more and placed it on Iroh's forehead again. As I did I looked over to see Kale and Zuko were still fast asleep from when they closed their eyes six hours ago, but of course they were as far from each other as they could be. Would they ever get along in the future?

Sighing, I took the rag off once more and then pulled my knees to my chest. Sitting there, I closed my eyes just for a moment. I hadn't slept in two days now, but I didn't want to sleep. I wouldn't sleep until Uncle woke up.

"_You should have gone with Aang. Your uncle and brother would've been fine," _Roku suddenly snapped. _"You're supposed to help the avatar defeat your father."_

Sighing, I muttered under my breath, "There's plenty of time in the future to do that Roku. Right now I only care about making sure my Uncles okay."

"_This is not the plan!" _Roku practically shout in my head.

"Plans change," I hissed.

"Amber?" Zuko suddenly said, and I jumped looking over to see him sitting up from where he'd been laying. "Who are you talking to?"

My eyes widened a bit, and I blushed deep red as I realized Zuko had heard me talking to no one. "Um… Just to myself," I said.

My brother sighed and got up from the ground, then walked over and sat beside me. We sat for a moment in silence, the both of us looking at the ground in thought. Finally Zuko spoke, his voice just a whisper, "Sorry for being such a jerk earlier… I shouldn't have snapped at you and told you to leave."

Smiling weakly, I said, "It's okay… I know you were just worried about Uncle. You're forgiven."

We sat in silence some more, and I closed my eyes once more enjoying the moment of just resting them.

"I'm glad you're doing okay," Zuko suddenly said, and I looked over at him now in question. "I was worried about you. When I left you at the North Pole all bloody and broken I was so scared you were going to die… But then I remembered there were healers at the North Pole, so that kind of eased my worries a bit." His words made my heart lighten a bit. Zuko had worried about me. My brother still cared about me like he used to.

Meeting his eyes, I said, "I would've died if you weren't there to save me."

He smiled a bit and looked away. "Guess I had to make it up to you for not saving you in the past."

Sighing, I stared back at Uncle who was still unconscious but I could tell the pain had calmed which made me relieved. Looking back at Zuko, I frowned. "You had no control over what happened to me in the past. It was all planned out before I was even born."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

My eyes widened at what I'd just spoken and I immediately smashed my lips shut. Should I tell him…? Should I tell him all about being half-spirit? What would he think?

A yawn suddenly sounded and we both looked over so see Kale was awake now and stretching. Sitting up, he looked over at Zuko and I with question. Zuko stood from where he sat beside me, saying, "I'm going to go get more water." Taking the bucket with the rag in it, Zuko shot Kale a look as if to say, _Stay away from my sister. _Then he turned and left, which meant it was just Kale and I, plus my unconscious uncle.

Standing, I walked over to Kale who was rubbing his eyes trying to wake up. "How was your sleep?" I asked, grabbing his hand and helping him stand from the ground.

He stretched then shrugged. "Zuko didn't slaughter me in my sleep last night, so it was pretty good. What about you?"

Looking away, I said, "It was fine." It was a lie, but I hoped Kale didn't see through it. Last thing I wanted was everyone worrying about me when uncle was the one we should be more worried about. When I looked back up at him though, I saw his eyes were filled with worry. "You didn't sleep last night, did you?"

Sighing, I crossed my arms and hung my head. "I'm a bad liar."

He smiled weakly and brushed his thumb against my cheek. "No… I can just read you now." Frowning, he said, "You should sleep. Zuko and I can take care of Iroh now. Besides… You haven't slept in two whole days."

Narrowing my eyes I pulled from him and looked away. "There's no way in the world I'm going to sleep and leaving you and Zuko alone. You guys might kill each other." He rolled his eyes and went to say something else, but I stopped him. "I'm fine Kale. I'll sleep as soon as Uncle wakes up," I promised, then turned and headed back over to my unconscious Uncle plopping back down beside him. Kale sighed and shook his head in disbelief.

Eventually Zuko came back with a bucket of fresh water and placed it down beside me. He shared another heated glare with Kale, and then plopped down against the wall crossing his arms. Kale sat against the opposite wall as well, his lips held tight together to keep from saying something he knew he shouldn't.

As silence passed, I felt a bit awkward as I wiped more beads of sweat from Iroh's forehead. What should I say to make this awkward situation go away? I knew Kale really didn't like my brother, and I knew my brother didn't trust Kale, but I also knew that if we were going to be with Zuko and Iroh for a while we all needed to get along.

"So, Zuko… How did you and Uncle end up in the wilderness traveling as nomads?" I asked, just trying to get a casual conversation going.

My brother sighed and looked away with hard eyes. "After we left the North Pole we ended up on a raft floating for almost three weeks. We managed to find ourselves at some fire nation Spa Resort on some river where Uncle and I were given royal treatment as we recovered from our long journey. While we were there someone must've sent word of our arrival because Azula showed up a few days after we arrived and tried to capture us. We've been on the run over these last few weeks. We had to disguise ourselves as commoners, change our names, and run from the Fire Nation. Because I failed at capturing the avatar, I'm now thought to be a traitor."

When he finished speaking, I frowned at what he said. So Azula had tried to capture Zuko and Iroh, her own family. No matter if that girl was my sister, deep down I wanted so badly to pound her face in the dirt. She was an evil chick who needed to be taught a lesson.

Then another part of it made me even more enraged. Father had named Iroh and Zuko traitors. Did he not realize how hard Zuko fought to capture Aang in the past? Does he not see his son is still trying to capture Aang? How could a father be so heartless and cruel to a son who would do anything to make father love him again?

"So what names are you going by?" I asked, just to try and lighten the situation, as well as not state my opinion on dad.

My brother cringed as he hesitated on admitting what names they'd chosen for themselves. "Um… They're kind of stupid… My name's Lee, and Iroh's name is Mushi."

A moment of silence passed as we took in the names. Then I finally said, "Wow… Those names aren't too bad. I expected much worse."

My brother looked relieved to see I hadn't laughed at the names they'd picked. Then I saw something flash through his face. For the first time ever I saw Zuko give me a genuine smile. He was actually smiling? Zuko never smiled. "I'm glad they're not stupid. I thought they were the dumbest names ever."

"They could be worse," I said.

"Yeah… How so?" Zuko asked, a bit curious to know.

With a smirk, I answered, "You could've chosen a girl's name."

At my words Kale chuckled while Zuko rolled his eyes and looked away. "I'm not that stupid."

As the conversation ended then, I decided it was a good time to change Iroh's bandages. His other ones were a good twelve hours old so he probably wanted some fresh ones. As Zuko helped to lift Uncle Iroh so I could redo his bandages, Kale said something about finding some stuff to make tea with. As he left, I called back to him saying, "Be careful."

He laughed, and shouted back, "I'm never careful!"

Rolling my eyes, I turned back to discarding the old bandages and wrapping the new ones around Iroh's chest. When I finished Zuko lowered him back to the ground and we both sighed glad that we hadn't caused him any pain. The next few minutes we sat waiting for Kale to come back. Zuko seemed like he wanted to ask something, but I could tell he was holding back every time he opened his mouth to speak. Finally he managed to ask, "Are you and the tea boy together or something?"

My ears burned and I felt my cheeks go rosy red as I answered, "Uh… Yeah. Kale's my boyfriend."

At these words I could tell Zuko wasn't too happy. Crossing his arms he narrowed his eyes at me. "You're going out with a tea serving peasant! You're better than that Amber!"

At his words I scowled. "Hey! Kale may have been a tea server in the past, but now he's an elite warrior who could kick your but in a single second flat!"

Zuko scoffed. "Yeah, right! The kid would be dead before he even pulled out his sword."

Narrowing my eyes now a bit annoyed at how mean my brother was being, I hissed, "That _kid_ means a lot to me Zuko! No matter how much you dislike the fact that your sister is with a boy with no noble status whatsoever, you need to respect the fact that I love Kale and am not going to let you treat him like dirt!"

"Father wouldn't approve," Zuko snapped.

Standing up now, I shouted, "Why the Agni do I care what that man thinks? He's hated me from the day I was born! You know what Zuko… You need to open your eyes one day and see that dad doesn't care squat about any of us! If he did he would've let you come home years ago, avatar or not!"

My brother was a bit taken aback by my words and opened his mouth once more to retort. He stopped though, because when he looked up into my eyes he saw tears begin to fall from them. Turning away in embarrassment, I covered my eyes trying to hide the tears that were steadily falling from my pained golden orbs. My heart hurt though. How could my brother be so blinded by the hope of regaining his honor, that he couldn't see he didn't need the Fire Lord to be happy? He had Uncle… He had me… What else did he want? He only cared about earning favor from a man who could care less if his son lived or died. It made me sick to my stomach knowing my brother was going down such a stupid path.

But I think the most painful part of it was that my brother didn't want me to be with Kale. All I wanted was for Zuko to see how much Kale meant to me, and Zuko was treating my boyfriend like a rug. Why couldn't he see that him speaking of Kale as if he were dirt made my heart hurt even more?

"Amber… I'm sorry," Zuko suddenly said, and I suddenly felt his arms wrap around me and pull me into a strong brotherly embrace. Pressing my face into his shirt, I knew my tears were staining it but I couldn't stop the salty liquid from escaping me. "I didn't realize he meant so much to you… If you like him that much, then I'm sorry for what I said. You have every right to be with whoever you want to."

My heart lifted a bit knowing Zuko felt that way, but at the same time I knew Zuko still didn't approve. He hated the idea that his sister was with a guy he thought to be a mere peasant. Pulling away a bit, I hung my head as I said, "Please let up on him, Zuko… He's one of my closest friends, and I don't want either of you hurting each other. You both mean a lot to me and it's hard to see the both of you hating each other's guts.

He nodded, hugging me to him again. "Okay… I promise I'll let up on him." Then when he pulled away, he smirked. "But I'm not going to stand back and not be a protective brother. He can come with us, but you two better not make out or do whatever couples do."

When he said this I felt a bit relieved knowing that Zuko was promising to let up on Kale. Maybe now they'd get along finally.

After I calmed down from my little crying fit, and Zuko and I sat back down once more just talking and joking around, Kale returned with three cups of tea. "They're not hot, but I tasted my own and I think they aren't too bad." Kale handed Zuko a cup, then handed me one. Looking down at the cracked china cup I frowned a bit. This used to belong to someone. Now that someone was either captured, forced to flee, or dead.

"How can people follow the Fire Lord so blindly and ruin so many lives? It's almost like no one in the fire nation has a heart anymore."

Zuko noticed the pain flash across my face and smiled weakly. "The Fire Nation never shows mercy… not even to these small towns. It's just the way we were all born. We were given fire to destroy."

"That's not why we were given fire," I said softly. Zuko shot me a look of question but I looked away not wanting to talk about it. Starting to drink the tea I smiled at the flavor. It was good. Kale always made the best tea.

As I drink more of the warm liquid I felt a bit more relaxed. It was like all the stress and worry was slowly slipping away. "Amber… Don't hate me," Kale suddenly said, and I looked over at him with question. Zuko sipped his tea but seemed a bit curious to know what Kale was talking about too. "I did it because I'm worried about you."

Now I pulled my empty tea cup away with question. "What are you talking about?" I asked.

He looked down with guilt. "Um… I found some herbs earlier when I was getting medicine for your uncle, and I found one in particular I thought would be good for you." I was still puzzled as he continued. "It's a sedative used in a lot of medicines to make people sleep." My eyes widened at what he said. "I slipped some of it in your tea."

As I opened my mouth to say something, I felt my vision blur and my head grow heavy. Warm arms caught me as I fell backward, the teacup leaving my hand and clanging to the floor. As my eyes closed, I heard Kale say, "You gave me no choice." Then I let sleep take me.

**Kale POV**

Rushing forward I caught Amber just as she fell back toward the ground. Her beautiful gold eyes looked out of focus as she fought the drugs I had snuck in her body. As she fell asleep, her eyes closing and her body finally relaxing, I sighed glad that she was finally getting the much needed sleep she needed. "You gave me no choice," I said softly, hoping she wouldn't want to fry me when she woke up.

"You drugged my sister?!" Zuko suddenly shouted, and I rolled my eyes not in the mood to deal with his crap right now. "Why would you do that?"

Looking over at the prince, who was now standing and looking ready to pound my face in the ground, I said, "I promised Sokka I'd look after her and keep her safe. She hasn't slept in over forty-eight hours and I know she wouldn't have gone to sleep until Iroh woke up. She's stubborn and always puts others before her. I did it because I love and care about her."

Picking up her limp body in my arms, I easily carried her across the room and lied her near the wall so she wouldn't be tripped over or kicked. "You had no right to drug her like that," Zuko snapped, and suddenly I felt his hand grab my shoulder hard. "You have no right to touch her either!"

Scowling, I turned quickly and grabbed Zuko's hand twisting it to the point where the prince was struggling and gritting his teeth in pain. It almost made me beam with delight that I was stronger than this spoiled dude. "Neither do you. Last thing she needs is a brother who only cares about himself."

This made the prince enraged. Lighting a flame with his other hand, he went to smash it into me. "You're really going to burn me? I'm sure Amber will be so happy when she finds a huge burn mark on my face."

Zuko growled extinguishing his flame, then yanked his hand away and backed up from me. "Just so you know peasant, I do care about my sister. If I didn't then why did I save her life back at the North Pole? She means everything to me, and I'm not letting you tell me who she does or doesn't need!"

Rolling my eyes, I turned and began to make my way toward the door. "Where are you going?" Zuko hissed from behind me.

Turning my head to the side, I said, "I'm going to get some more bandages for when Iroh wakes up. There's bound to be some more somewhere."

"Why do you care about my uncle?" Zuko snapped. "You don't even know him! Don't be doing this just because you want to impress my sister!"

Smiling a bit, I turned so I was facing Zuko again. "You're wrong. I do know your uncle… He was the only person other than Amber in the palace who actually cared about me and knew my name."

"What are you talking about?" Zuko ordered.

Turning again, I started to walk away. "I'm not explaining myself to you."

"I have a right to know!" Zuko snapped, stepping in my path to stop me.

Annoyed, I took a step back. "Why do you even care? My story would probably bore a selfish prince like you."

The dude, whom I always thought as a heartless, narcissistic guy, frowned and looked away with guarded eyes. "I'm curious okay! And I'm not selfish!"

Narrowing my eyes, I went to retort again, but I saw something flash across Zuko's face that stopped me. Was it hurt? Did the prince actually have feelings? Had I offended him?

Taking in a hard breath, I wondered if I was going to regret this in the future, telling Zuko my own personal memories. Deciding to try and make peace with him for Amber's sake though, I said with defeat, "Okay… I'll tell you the story, but it's nothing special… You'll probably lose interest as soon as I start talking." Zuko continued to look at me, and I saw burning curiosity in his eyes. Sighing I began, "It was just like every other day in the palace…"

_Balancing the tray of tea in my hand, I carefully made my way into the room that the guards opened for me. When I got inside I was a bit surprised to see General Iroh of all people. The room he was in was pretty large in size with a nice bed and tapestry's on the wall. There were also drawings nailed to the stone, some of Prince Lu Ten while others were of Amber or Zuko. Iroh was seated at a table with a bunch of papers, his eyes scanning over the words in deep concentration. Stepping up to him, I could tell he was very upset, and his skin was very pale as well. _

_Over the last three weeks so much had occurred at the fire nation royal palace. General Iroh's son died in battle, and a week later Amber's mom Ursa went missing, followed by Fire Lord Azulon's death, and finally Ozai took the throne and became Fire Lord. It was a lot of events that occurred that made me truly believe the new Fire Lord had a lot to do with it._

_Standing in the room, I saw Iroh's fists were tight as he read over the parchments in front of him. I knew speaking unless told to was forbidden in the palace, but I had to say something because I had other duties to attend to. "Sir… I've brought you the tea you've requested."_

_The man looked up when I spoke, and it was then I saw his eyes were bloodshot red from tears he had shed earlier. When he saw me staring at him, he smiled kindly which surprised me. "You must be Kale… I remember you when you were a young boy and first brought here to work at the palace. It seemed you'd taken a liking to my niece as well when she was still here. She used to tell me all about you and how amazing you were."_

_When he spoke about Amber I felt pain flash across my face. "Have a seat Kale," Iroh insisted, and I wasn't sure if that was allowed. "I could use someone to talk to for a few minutes."_

_A bit unsure, but at the same time not wanting to get in trouble for disobeying the man, I placed the tea down and sat on the floor at the low table. Iroh took a tea cup and placed the other one in front of me. "So tell me young man… How have you been since my niece went missing? I've heard rumor you still aren't taking it very well."_

_At the mention of Amber, I frowned worried if I told the truth I might get scolded for falling in love with the princess. Trying to speak with no emotion, I said, "I'm over the grief now. Of course I miss her, but I've moved on."_

_He looked up into my eyes, and I saw his weary tired ones stare deeply into my soul. "You say that, but I know you're lying." Iroh took a sip of his tea and smiled with comfort at the warmth and flavor. "Mmm… You surely are a talented young man when it comes to tea. I can see why Amber liked you so much."_

_Smiling a bit at the memory of Amber, I said, "She liked me because I was the only server who would let her drink cold tea." As her bright and joyful face came to my mind, I felt my eyes tighten as tears threatened to appear. Crying meant I was weak, and I would not be weak in front of Iroh, retired general of the fire nation._

"_She was an odd girl indeed. But her heart was the purest in the family," Iroh said. "Why the spirits took her away from us, I'll never know… Lu Ten always said that Amber was like the sun: She always brightened and warmed everyone's day. At least now he's with her and they both can share the same sun together." When he finished this part I saw him frown as he sipped his tea again._

_Sighing, I looked at my hands which I'd been clutching the teacup in front of me with. "Yeah," I said, but of course I didn't believe it. The fact was, I believed Amber was alive out there somewhere. They could call me crazy all they wanted but deep down I still felt her presence. She was alive… Call it whim, but I knew she was still in this world._

"_You're thinking it too, aren't you?" Iroh suddenly questioned. Immediately I was a bit confused. "You feel she's alive just as I do." Now I was looking at the man in surprise. "After Lu Ten died, I felt this absence from him as if his spirit had left this world and joined the other. When Amber went missing though, I never once felt the same absence like my son. It was only until Lu Ten died that I understood. When someone dies, it's as if you can sense they are no longer in this world with you. With Amber though, I still feel she's here. She's just lost."_

_At his words, I felt my heart ache. "If she is alive though, how come she hasn't come back to us? Plus why would Fire Lord Ozai stop searching for her if there was a chance she could be alive?" I already knew the answer to my own question though. It was because the Fire Lord was the one who sent her away in the first place. He wanted her dead._

_Iroh looked torn now. "Ozai was always rough on the girl. Ever since she was born her father never showed any amount of love to her, and he always brushed her aside as if she were the plague. My brother never treated the poor child as if she were his own. Deep down, I have this dreadful knowing that Ozai is the reason Amber is gone. He most likely hired someone to take Amber away from here. If Amber is alive, then my only assumptions to why she hasn't returned are because she's either hiding from her father, or she's somehow lost her memory and doesn't know who she is."_

_His words were logical, but I wasn't sure how each assumption made me feel. If it were true, then was there going to ever be any hope of seeing Amber again?_

_Standing from the table, I said, "I- I have to go… I have duties to attend to." _

_As I left though, I heard Iroh say, "You're a good young man, Kale. If by some chance Amber does wander back into our lives I hope you and her can return to the way things were."_

_Closing my eyes, I said softly, "If only dreams did come true." Then I left the room, leaving the only man who truly cared behind._

Finishing my story, I crossed my arms as I leaned against the wall and watched Zuko's reaction. He was a bit surprised by the words I'd just spoken. After a moment, he weakly asked, "Uncle knew Amber was alive?"

Frowning, I shook my head. "I never said he knew. I only said he assumed. There's a big difference."

Zuko clutched the wall for support as he tried to comprehend what I was saying. "If Uncle thought this of my father, then why didn't he say anything to anyone?"

"What did you expect him to do… walk in front of the whole city and claim the Fire Lord a murderer with no proof whatsoever? That would go well," I muttered.

"I don't believe it…" Zuko said his voice breaking. "Amber said the same thing… about dad being the reason she disappeared over nine years ago… But it doesn't make sense. Why would father want Amber dead?"

Sighing, I looked over at Amber who still slept soundly. "Because he probably knew…"

Zuko pulled from the wall and tightened his fist. "Knew what?"

At first I was tempted to tell him, but I decided it wasn't my story to tell. If Amber wanted Zuko to know she was half-spirit she could tell him on her own time. I didn't want her to be more furious with me than she already would be. When she waked up, I'd probably get to feel her wrath for the first time ever. "She'll tell you when she's ready. She doesn't share it with a lot of people because she's scared everyone will call her a freak. It took her weeks after she found out to tell her water tribe sister, so I'm sure it will take her a while to tell you."

"Yet she told you whatever it is?" Zuko muttered.

"That's because she trusts me," I stated.

"She probably won't anymore, seeing as you deceived her and drugged her tea," Zuko oh so generously reminded me.

Frowning, I went to argue but we both were stopped when we heard a groan. Looking over we saw Iroh's eyes were slowly opening as he returned to consciousness. We both sighed, relieved the man was okay and awake.

**Amber POV**

As soon as I went unconscious in the mortal world, I found myself in a land unfamiliar to me. Standing in some type of forest, I looked around me in great confusion. The sky above was white with no sun at all, and the ground below was warm on my bare feet. There was crystal clear water beside me, and the tree roots flowed freely around me as if they were trying to make a jungle of their own. Looking at my clothes, I saw I wasn't in my water tribe outfit but instead in a sleeveless dress the color of a fire that hugged my frame and flowed to the ground just brushing it as I stood. Grabbing my long black hair as confusion swept over me, I gave it a tug just to make sure I was awake. When I pulled my scalp stung a bit. That's when I knew this wasn't a dream.

Stepping forward in the strange world I was in, I started to walk through the forest filled with odd plants that I'd never seen before in my life. As I did I noticed something: There was no wind. Turning, I looked around my trying to figure out where I was or how I ended up here. The place I'd passed out in was a building in the desert. How I ended up in a windless forest was a question to me?

"Amber!" A female voice suddenly called, and I jumped turning to see who it was. There was no one; just the endless forest and the strange unknown plants that seemed to multiply every time I looked at the ground. "Amber!" The voice called again, and I looked up once more wondering who it could be. It almost sounded like it echoed through the forest.

As I went to take a step forward, a familiar voice from behind me said, "I wouldn't do that… You probably don't want to meet the source of that call. The cry is just a way for a spirit to find its prey, and trust me beautiful that your spirit is most likely a mighty tasty one. Spirits have always wanted to sink their teeth into you ever since you were born."

Turning in surprise, my eyes widened in shock as I stared at the spirit I'd never expected to meet so soon and abruptly. He smiled at me, his pure gold eyes shining with delight when he saw recognition flash across my face. He was wearing the same dark robe from when I first saw him, only this time I noticed flame designs etched into the fabric. He looked only twenty like before, and I noticed his fire red hair still hung a bit over his eyes.

"Huo…" I whispered, taking a step back in surprise. "What are you…?" I stopped when my eyes widened. "Where am I?!" I cried, now starting to get terrified.

He smiled. "Well where else would you be? I've brought you to the spirit world."

My breathing hitched as I took in what Huo spoke. The spirit world! Why was I in the spirit world! Looking down at my bare arms suddenly my eyes widened even more. My scars were gone… Every one of them had vanished only showing clear translucent skin. It was like I wasn't even in my mortal body anymore.

"You're spirit is even greater than I imagined. It's so pure and full of warmth," Huo's hand went to brush against my face but I panicked and stepped back once more not wanting him to touch me. As I stepped back this time, I was surprised to find my body hit a tree so I couldn't back away anymore. Where'd the tree come from? "Don't be afraid, Amber… I would never harm my own flame."

At his words I frowned and crossed my arms in defiance. There was no way I was going to be owned by this man. "I'm not your flame," I muttered, looking away from him.

His hand grabbed my chin, and I gasped as he pulled me forward a bit so his face was close to my own. As his hand made contact with my skin I felt sudden warmth surge through me as if the flame inside me was bursting with power. "You say that, but I know you can feel it. You're power is connected to my own Amber… You feel it increase just by my touch. No matter how hard you fight it, you are my flame. I placed my own spiritual flame in you so that when you were born you would live. Your burning spirit belongs to me."

"No!" I cried, yanking from Huo and crashing back against the tree again. Closing my eyes, I snapped, "You're wrong! My spirit is my own! That's why I chose my own path… I stayed with my uncle so you all would see I'm not afraid to break away from this curse placed in my life!"

Huo chuckled and I suddenly heard him whisper beside my ear, "You can try and break away if you like, but just remember Amber… I can take your spirit from the mortal world anytime I like: I did so today so you know I can do it again. You can rebel against Roku and I all you want, but no matter what you will always be half-spirit and my own flame. One day we'll both rule over the flames of this world and the other together and there's no escaping that."

Scowling, I shoved him away from me and looked into his eyes with fury. "I'm not giving up without a fight! When I defeat my father I'll go to Aang for help! He'll know how to keep me safe from you!"

He grinned and stepped back, his eyes amused as he took in my fighting spirit. "Well then," Huo began. "I look forward to seeing what happens in the future. A newbie avatar who hasn't even mastered all four elements is going to help you? This I will truly enjoy to see."

"Huo!" Another familiar voice snapped, and this time I looked over to see Roku staring at the both of us with narrowed eyes. He stood only a few yards away, but I could tell he was not happy with the spirit in front of me. "I told you to leave the child be."

He smirked at the white haired spirit. "Ah… Roku. You came at the perfect time. You're great-granddaughter has presented us with a challenge I think you'll find most interesting."

My great-grandfather frowned at the spirit saying, "I heard Huo… I'd like to speak to her alone."

Huo sighed and looked disappointed. "You always ruin my fun Roku…" Then he turned back to me and I pressed against the tree once more just wishing he'd go away. "You can fight me all you want Amber, but you do belong to me." He leaned forward and I felt his breath on my face as he said with burning eyes, "Without me, you're mortal life will end quickly." Then he turned and walked away allowing me to breathe finally, but I saw his eyes shot Roku a hard look as if telling him to not do anything he'd regret.

When Huo vanished in the forest, Roku stepped forward saying, "It's alright Amber… He's gone now."

It was then I realized my body was shaking like a leaf and I felt tears fill my eyes. That was the first time ever I've felt so lost and helpless. Stepping away from the tree, I stumbled a bit as my legs were numb from the fear still coursing inside me. Roku steadied me suddenly, grabbing my shoulder so I wouldn't fall. When I met his gold eyes, I could tell he was sad to see me so afraid.

"I'm sorry Amber… I had no control on Huo bringing you here to the spirit world… I know how much all of this upsets you, but there's nothing any of us can do. If you break the link between you and Huo, then the strength in your mortal body will leave you and you will die. Huo granted you life so that you could carry his flame inside your spirit and show the world what the true meaning of fire is. If you break that link, the life and strength Huo gave you will be taken away and your body will shut down."

Tears fell down my cheeks as I looked down in pain. "There has to be some way I can break the link without killing myself? If I don't break this link, then I'll never be free to be with Kale or my family."

"You were never supposed to develop these feelings toward anyone," Roku admitted. "Huo and I had hoped that if you were torn from your fire nation family then you'd be willing to do as we asked. We never imagined you'd find refuge at the water tribe of all places and find a family, not to mention you'd get your memories back. I tried so hard to block your mind to keep you from remembering who you are. You were only ever supposed to meet Aang and defeat the Fire Lord together. Your father was only supposed to be a stranger to you so you would not care what happened to him. Everything we hoped has not gone the way we planned."

"Which is why I know I can break away somehow," I said, suddenly feeling determined. "If what you had planned originally could be changed so drastically, then I know I can find a way to break this link between Huo and I and stay alive in the human world. I won't give up until I'm free from all you spirits!"

Roku was surprised by how unshakable I was from this thought process. To my bewilderment, he smiled. "Very well Amber… If you find a way to break the link between you and the spirit world, then I promise I will never interfere with your life ever again. You have an avatars word."

When he said this I tried not to smile. If I was to break away from Huo and become a full human, then Roku promised to leave me alone. This was perfect. All I wanted was to be left the rest of my life in peace so I could be happy with the ones I loved. If Roku was promising to stay away from me when I found a way to break from Huo, then that meant I would fully be free.

"I'll show you Roku… One day I'll be human again, and you'll all see who I truly am." Then I stood tall saying, "I'm not giving up without a fight."

My great-grandfather smiled as he saw my spirit burn with hope. "You truly do have my blood in your veins." Then suddenly he stepped forward pressing his finger to my forehead and a flash of white light flooded my sight.

When I woke up, I woke up with a start and sat up from where I lied on the floor. My heart pounded rapidly and my head felt heavy as I tried to gather my surroundings. Looking around, I saw I was back in the building at the abandoned ghost town and Uncle Iroh was seated up and awake talking to both Zuko and Kale, drinking a cup of tea with delight. When they heard me move they all looked over and I met all of their eyes.

"Amber…" Kale began, standing slowly and walking over to me with cautious brown eyes. "I know you're probably mad at me for drugging your tea and stuff, but you have to know I-"

Jumping up from where I sat, I rushed into Kale and wrapped my arms around his neck just so I could feel his warmth sink into me. He was a bit startled but sighed with relief and wrapped his own arms around me pulling me into a stronger embrace. He had no clue why I was acting this way, but he didn't question or pull away from me to ask. Instead he continued to hold me in his arms; his human arms. It was relieving to feel his presence beside me, because it was the only way I truly knew I was back in the world I belonged.

"I'm going to find a way," I whispered. "They won't beat me."

Kale sighed. "I guess you're talking about the spirits?"

Nodding, I pulled away looking down with hard eyes. "Huo took me to the spirit world," I whispered. "He says he owns me but I told him I'd find a way to escape from his grasp. He can't expect me to go down without a fight."

Kale seemed a bit taken aback by this, but then his eyes narrowed. "I'll fight with you," Kale promised.

"Um… Is there something you both aren't telling us?" Zuko suddenly said.

Looking over at Zuko and uncle who were looking over at me with question, I smiled weakly saying, "It's nothing…" Pulling from Kale, I managed to calm my heart which still pounded rapidly from the thought of my spirit being ripped from this world in my sleep. Then walking over to both Iroh and my questioning brother I asked to change the subject, "How are you feeling uncle?"

He smiled kindly at me, and I was glad to see his smile again. Actually I was glad to see he was alive and awake. "I'm doing perfectly fine. Zuko and Kale told me how great a nurse you are."

Blushing, I looked away. "I wouldn't say I'm that good. I just used to help my water tribe mom mend wounded soldiers in the past so I know a few things."

My uncle gestured for me to sit and I did with question. He looked at me now with hard but curious eyes. "Why did you stay here with me, Amber?"

After a moment of trying to collect myself from what uncle had just asked, I smiled weakly. "You're my uncle… It was the right thing to do. Plus I knew if I left you I'd lose my mind not knowing if you were okay. I'll find the others in the future, but right now I only want to make sure you're okay," I answered.

He sighed, but I could tell he was happy to hear my answer. "You have such a pure heart… Ursa would be proud."

"Hey! Stop avoiding the subject Amber?" Zuko suddenly snapped, stepping in front of where I sat on the ground and looking down at me annoyed. "You and your lover boy are hiding something, and I want to know just what it is! You can't keep it from me!"

Immediately I knew there was no getting out of it this time. Just by looking at Zuko, I could read his determination from a mile away. He wouldn't stop until he got an answer. Sighing, I looked down at my knees as my heart filled with pain. He was right. He was my older brother, and I knew I could trust him. Plus, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it from him forever.

"Fine… I guess I can tell you…." As Zuko and Iroh listened, and Kale gave me a reassuring smile letting me know he was here for me, I told my story again. "I guess it all started before I was even born…"

As I spoke about my life to my Uncle and Zuko, I could tell they were both astonished at the things they were hearing. I told them about my almost death as a baby, about Huo, about my controlled destiny, about seeing dead people, and about Roku. When I got ready to tell Zuko about Roku though, I heard Roku shout in my head, _"It's not time for Zuko to know of his ancestry!" _Wincing at his voice and how loud he was, I just told Zuko that Avatar Roku was communicating with me because he was trying to help.

When I finished my story, the abandoned building was utterly silent. It was awkward sitting in a room of nothing but silence. Looking between Iroh and Zuko who both sat across from me I could tell they were both trying to grasp everything I'd just spoken. Kale sat beside me as we waited for their reactions, and I could tell he was watching Zuko's every move.

"You were dying…?" Zuko suddenly said, finally breaking the silence. "The spirits granted you life?"

Nodding, I looked down so I didn't have to show Zuko tears were forming in my eyes. "Yes… And if that life is taken out of me then I'll die. That's why I have to find a way to break from all this spirit stuff without killing myself. Roku say's I'm half spirit, but there has to be some way of becoming fully human and live. That's why I'm hoping Aang will help me."

"Aang…?" Zuko asked, trying to probably figure out where he'd heard the name before.

"He's the avatar stupid! The one you've been chasing for months!" Kale snapped, annoyed that my brother was chasing a kid to the four corners of the world but didn't even know the kids name.

Zuko scowled over at Kale, snapping defensively, "Well how was I supposed to know that?! We haven't exactly had a one on one conversation before!"

"You could've if you weren't throwing fire at him every second of the day!" Kale spat back.

Uncle sighed as the two boys suddenly began to argue, and I hung my head more as I wished the fighting would just stop.

"So sorry for wanting to go home! Unlike you I actually respect my nation," Zuko shouted.

Kale jumped up now enraged by Zuko's assumption. "You're wrong! I respect my nation! It's just your daddy I can't stand! I can't wait for Aang to take that cold heartless monster down! That man deserves everything that's about to come to him!"

Zuko jumped up too with his own fury. "You have no right to speak that way about my father! He's a great leader!"

"A great leader?! Ha! Why would the Fire Lord, who may I add tried to kill his daughter and banished his only son, be classified as a great leader?! Do you even care that your father signed your sister's death wish?"

"Of course I care! But I'm still not sure-"

"You're a fool if you don't believe what Amber says! She's been through hell and back all because of the man you respect so highly. You're a coward for following a hateful man so willingly!" Kale spat.

Zuko's hand began to steam and I gasped as a flame lit on his palm. Kale stood his ground reaching for his sword. Immediately I stood and concentrated on the flame enveloping Zuko's fist. As I tried to calm the fire inside him by focusing on the flames heat, I managed to calm the flame and watched with relief as the fire died from his hand. Zuko's eyes widened when he felt the fire cool inside him and saw his own flame die away. Kale calmed a bit too when he saw Zuko's fire extinguish.

When I was certain Zuko's blood was no longer boiling and he wasn't about to fry my boyfriend, I stopped concentrating on Zuko's flame and caught my breath. Falling on my knees as my head felt heavy, I breathed hard trying to catch my breath while at the same time ponder what I'd just done. I'd just taken Zuko's fire bending away for a small second. I'd calmed the fire inside him so he couldn't create a flame. Is this the power Huo wanted me to use on my father?

"What the agni just happened?!" Zuko asked, staring at his hand with horror.

Kale sighed, relieved a fight didn't really break out and then was suddenly at my side, one hand on my shoulder as my whole body trembled. I could stop someone from fire bending? I could take their ability away if I tried… If I could do this to Zuko, then there was no doubt in my mind I could do it to my father. If I made the fire lord unable to bend, then Aang could take him down in a flash.

Is this what it felt like to be able to control flames? Is this what it meant to have Huo's power inside me? If so then I didn't want it. Deep down I was terrified of what I'd just done. If word got out about this, I'd be even more of a freak than I already was.

"Amber… Did you just-" Kale began but Iroh interrupted.

"It's just what I imagined. You truly are the most powerful fire bender in this world my dear. You have more power than anyone I've met in all my years. Even myself..." Iroh then managed to stand although he clutched his chest uncomfortably where the wound still lied under bandages. Carefully stepping over to where I sat on the floor still bewildered, Iroh looked down at me with reassurance. "You have an amazing ability that I've never seen before in all my days. Now I can see the words you have spoken are true. You are indeed half-spirit."

At his words, I felt tears slide down my cheeks and I immediately let my hair hide my pain. "I don't want to be… It's not fair…"

His fatherly hand rested on my head and I felt more tears fall at his familiar touch. "One day I know we'll all find a way to free you Amber: Until then though, don't be ashamed of the power you've been given. It can be very useful in the future." Iroh then turned to Zuko who was now staring at me with bewilderment. "I think that's enough arguments for one day. Let's all cool down and enjoy a nice cup of tea."

My brother met my eyes when I looked up at him, and I saw something flash through him. It was like he was seeing a complete stranger and didn't know what to say. Looking away again, I felt my heart ache in pain. He thought me to be a freak, didn't he? My brother probably wouldn't look at me the same again.

After a few minutes of more silence, I could tell Zuko was beginning to gather his thoughts and now looked a bit sorry for almost burning Kale. He looked over at Kale saying, "Sorry… I let my anger get the best of me sometimes."

Kale sighed, and I could tell he felt ashamed as well. "No… It's my fault. I shouldn't have attacked you about the whole avatar thing."

As they both apologized to one another I felt as if a weight was lifted from my shoulders. The fight was over for now, and I hoped that it would remain that way so we could all get along. Though I was certain Zuko would probably want to avoid me.

That night we drank our tea and discussed our next move. We were seated in a circle and I was right across from Zuko who hadn't looked my way since the whole incident earlier. It pained me that he wouldn't look at me, but I didn't have the courage to voice my feelings to him.

As we discussed our next move, Zuko wanted to immediately return on the avatars trail which I might add Kale and I weren't too pleased with, while uncle offered another suggestion. "I suggest instead of going on a wild goose chase for a kid who could be going anywhere, we go find a safe place to stay. I have resources that will get us all into Ba Sing Se." When Zuko went to argue, Iroh stopped him. "We can begin a fresh start in the city while at the same time you can keep looking for the avatar."

Kale and I looked at one another unsure about going to such a big city. "But isn't Ba Sing Se on the other side of the desert?" I asked, remembering it from books and maps my water tribe father had given me.

Iroh nodded. "Yes… However there is a small oasis a good two days walk from here that we can stop and rest at. I know someone who's there that can help us get passage to Ba Sing Se."

We decided Uncle Iroh's way was the best choice, and we decided to take it. As we got ourselves together, and Iroh took some herbs to make his travel more comfortable, I walked over to Zuko who was still avoiding me. He was busy filling a canteen with water from the bucket in the room, so he didn't notice when I approached. Rubbing my arm, I asked weakly, "Do you think I'm a freak now?"

My brother jumped a bit startled, then turned his head to look up at me with surprise. When he saw the pain flash across my face, he frowned and stood so he was towering over me a bit (he was almost six inches taller than me). When we were face to face, he smiled weakly. "No… I don't think you're a freak Amber… It's just this is a lot to take in. The spirits, and dad, and now your powers… I just need time. I need to grasp what's true."

Nodding, I looked away with despair. "I know you're doubting the part about dad- and I'm not going to force you to believe it- but you should know that he's not the man you think he is, Zuko. He only loves himself." My brother frowned when I spoke this, and I could see an inner battle inside him as he tried to believe something he didn't want to.

Turning, I left my brother to ponder over what I'd just spoken. As I walked away, I hoped that Zuko would one day see father for what that man truly was: that man was a cold blooded monster who couldn't give a crap about his children. One day the Fire Lord would lose it all, and one day Zuko would finally see through the monster's mask.

One day everything would finally make sense.


	10. Human

"This is insane! Are you crazy!" I shouted, running down the rocky earth desperate to stop my brother before he did something stupid. There was no way in the world I was letting Zuko do what he was about to do, even if he was older than me. "You'll get struck by lightning and die!"

A few hours ago we'd managed to find ourselves a nice cave to rest in before we continued across the sand to the oasis uncle had told us about. We were sticking to the edge of the desert, where it was part sand and part rock. Uncle said if we walked along the deserts edge it would take us right to the oasis and we wouldn't have to worry about getting lost.

After we'd left the deserted ghost town and started to trek through the desert, we walked for a good six hours till finally we found the sand even out and a rocky canyon emerge. Uncle assured us that this meant we were only twelve hours from the oasis and would be there by tomorrow. When we found a nice cave to stay in for the night, I could tell uncle was relieved to be able to rest. His injury was still in the process of healing and made him uncomfortable.

When we all got settled Zuko came up with this crazy idea which he voiced to uncle. "It's only a matter of time before I run into Azula again. I'm going to need to know more advanced firebending if I want to stand a chance against her. I know what you're going to say: she's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her." His words made even me scowl. Azula could go rot.

Uncle calmly answered back, "No. She's crazy and she needs to go down." When he stood, I stared at him in terror as he said, "It's time to resume your training." As they started to walk out of the cave, I jumped up and intercepted both of their paths.

"Wait a second! Is now such a good time to do this? We need rest, you especially uncle. There's no time to train right now."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "We're in the middle of nowhere! This is the perfect time to train." He pushed me aside and started to walk out of the cave. Uncle began to follow, but smiled reassuringly at me saying, "Don't worry Amber. We'll both be fine."

When they were gone it was just me and Kale in the cave. My heart raced as I worried that the two of them would get hurt or lost. Kale noticed my anxiety as I paced the cave and walked by him for the tenth time. After I paced again he stood pulling me into his arms to stop me from moving.

"Calm down… Your brother and uncle will be fine. If Iroh said they will be then you should believe him."

Even though Kale's words did calm me a bit, I still had this unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach. Deciding Kale was right though, I calmed and relaxed in his hold. He let me go when he felt my body relax.

"Sorry… I worry too much," I muttered.

Kale chuckled. "Yeah… Way too much."

We eventually sat against the wall of the cave waiting for uncle and Zuko to return. Kale had pulled out his water tribe sword and was sharpening it with a rock he found. I'd almost forgotten he'd had the weapon. It was always kept in the sheath on his waist. It reminded me just how much of a warrior Kale had become. We all had grown stronger over the months. We definitely weren't kids anymore.

"What do you think they're doing?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Probably just Fire bending… Iroh's probably teaching him some new moves or something."

Eventually Iroh returned, and when he reentered the cave I heard the sound of thunder in the distance. When he approached us I could tell he was tired from the training and also a bit troubled. It was a moment after he entered I realized my brother did not follow.

"Where's Zuko?" I asked.

Uncle sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. "He was upset I wouldn't shoot lightning at him so he's gone to find his own."

When he spoke this I felt horror build inside me. Zuko was going to find lightning! Did he not realize lightning kills people?

"And you didn't stop him?" I asked, almost accusing uncle.

Iroh frowned. "There's no stopping Zuko when his minds set on something. You should know that as much as I do."

Jumping up, I cried, "Well someone has to stop him! He's being ridiculous over this whole beating Azula thing!"

Turning I darted out of the cave, and I could hear Kale holler after me as I ran across the rocky canyon toward the direction of the dark storm clouds in the distance. After running past rocky structures and down rocky slopes I finally found Zuko by sheer luck (I had no clue if I was going the right way or not). He was headed up hill toward a large rocky platform, and I knew his goal was to find lightening and prove his strength. Prove he was strong enough to take Azula down.

Now as I ran after him, calling him crazy and insane, I saw him turn to look at me with surprise. "Amber? What are you doing here?" he asked, stopping in his step and turning his whole body toward me with an expression of disbelief.

"Stopping my brother from killing himself!" I shouted over the flash of lightening and the sound of thunder. Rain started to fall and I immediately felt my hair and clothing become wet from the storm. Walking over to my brother, I breathed hard as I tried to recover from the run and get air back in my lungs. My chest hurt and I felt my legs burn from the chase I'd just done.

"Go back… I can take care of myself!" Zuko snapped, then turned and started to head up hill again. Infuriated, I raced forward and grabbed Zuko's shirt sleeve yanking him back. He stumbled a bit and then turned to me with wide eyes. "Let go Amber!"

Scowling, I yelled over another rumble of thunder. "No! I'm not going to let you get struck by lightning!"

He yanked away from me. "You're being ridiculous! I'm not going to get struck!" A flash of lightening suddenly shot through my vision and I gasped as a memory suddenly hit me.

"_Mommy! Zuko!" I cried, covering my head as another sound of thunder echoed across the palace. The storm had started so suddenly, and when I ran from my room to Zuko's room I couldn't find him. When I couldn't find Zuko I ran to my mom and dad's room but they weren't there either. Now I was hiding under one of the tables in the palace hall, and a red table cloth was draped over it so no one could see me underneath. As the lightening continued, and the thunder boomed like a monster growling, I shut my eyes tightly as tears fell down my cheeks._

_The table cloth suddenly lifted and I screamed backing away from whoever it was. To my relief though, it was my bst friend Kale. "Amber! The whole palace is freaking out looking for you!" The seven year old boy crawled under the table then and sat beside me as I shook and cried from the terror of the storm. _

"_I hate lightning storms!" I cried._

_He hugged me as I sobbed and trembled, saying, "It's okay… I don't like lightning either, Amber."_

A flash of lightening shot down toward the earth a good twenty yards away and I screamed jumping forward and hugging onto Zuko's arm with a tight grip. I'd always been jumpy with storms but having lightening shoot to the earth inches from me only heightened my fears.

"Come on Zuko! Let's leave before we're both killed!" I cried, practically begging for Zuko to come back so none of us would get hurt.

He yanked from me again saying, "You go back if you're scared. I'm going to prove to everyone that I'm strong enough to beat Azula." He then turned and walked up the cliff that was taller than the others around us and closest to the lightening. I watched him go with even more horror. Why was he doing this? This would prove nothing! Another lightning strike crashed down near the spot it already had, and I shrieked rushing after Zuko.

When I caught up to him, I watched as he stood at the edge of the rocky cliff and looked up at the sky as if waiting. The rain was beginning to slow now, and I could tell the lightning and thunder was coming to an end. Zuko cried out suddenly, "You've always thrown everything you could at me! Well, I can take it! And now I can give it back! Come on! Strike me! You've never held back before!"

When Zuko screamed this I now understood. This wasn't just to prove to everyone else he could fight Azula and win. This was a way for him to prove to himself he could fight Azula and win. He wanted to believe that he had the power to do it.

Silence fell over us then, and I watched as my brother fell on his knees in defeat with tears falling down his face. He wanted to know he was strong. He wanted to be strong. At that moment I wanted him to be strong too. After I let Zuko cry for a few minutes, I walked over to him and knelt beside him so I could place a comforting hand on his back. Then I spoke my heart.

"You don't need to prove you're strong enough to defeat Azula, Zuko. You are strong enough to defeat her. You're courageous, determined, and filled with so much hope. You have abilities I'll never know and skills I could only dream of having. You chased the avatar across the world for spirits sake! Strength is something that comes from the heart. Azula is nothing but hate and uncontrollable power. She will never understand what it truly means to be strong."

My brother took in my words and I could tell he was comforted by them. When he pulled his body back up, I no longer saw the face of defeat. Now I saw determination flash through his eyes. Looking at me with gratitude, he said, "Thanks Amber… I needed that."

Smiling at him, I said, "Come on… Let's head back before you do anything else crazy."

We both stood then and began to head back toward the direction we came. The clouds were still over us but the rain and lightning had stopped. My clothes were still drenched from the rain and my black hair was dripping water. Zuko's hair also had droplets falling and his clothes were drenched as well. We talked on the way back, Zuko telling me about his journey alone before he met up with me and Uncle at the ghost town.

"Looking back I feel really bad about ditching Uncle like that. He was trying to help, and I repaid him by leaving him alone in the forest. Some nephew I am," Zuko muttered.

Frowning, I said, "Sometimes I feel the same way when I think about how I left Sokka and Katara. We were supposed to stick together, but my heart told me to stay with you and Uncle. Even if it's what my heart told me, I still worry if I made the right decision or not."

"If it matters any… I'm glad you stayed. I don't think I could've taken care of Uncle alone. How did you know how to treat him though?"

"I've treated a lot of burns in the past. Warriors who returned from battle were brought to my mother who treated them. Katara and I got to help her. I also had experience with my own burns." This made an awkward silence pass over us for a moment.

"So tell me something…" Zuko said, his voice breaking the awkward pause. "These water tribe kids… you really care about them?"

Looking down at the moist earth, I smiled weakly. "They're all I've had for the last nine years… Even if I'm not related to them by blood, they are my family. Sokka's over protective but always there to comfort me, and Katara's the fun and loving little sister any sibling could ask for. They helped me out growing up as I tried to figure things out about myself. They showed me that I didn't need to remember my past to be happy."

A pause passed till Zuko spoke again. "And now that you do remember, you're not happy?"

Looking over at him, I saw his face was a bit wary of what I would say. "In a way I'm not happy about a lot of things, but deep down I am happy that I finally learned who I really am. Even if Kaya is still me, it's easier to live as just Amber than both. Being princess of the fire nation isn't all that bad anyways…"

"Why's that?" My brother asked.

Looking away embarrassed, I said softly, "I get you as a brother."

He looked over at me with surprise, and then I saw joy fill him as he took in what I said. He was glad I felt the way I did about him. "I'm a pretty lousy one though."

"Sokka is sometimes too, but that's okay. No one said being an older brother is easy. I think you're doing a great job."

My brother's spirit seemed to lift at what I'd spoken.

When we finally got back to the cave Kale was relieved to see me. Running out of the cave before I could even reach its mouth, Kale rushed to me and pulled me into his arms. As he held me to him he said, "I was so worried about you! Don't ever do something like that again!" Sighing in Kale's comforting hold, I pressed my face to his chest enjoying his warmth. My clothes were still damp so his body heat alone warmed me enough to stop my shivering frame.

"Sorry… It won't happen again," I promised. Then I leaned my head up to kiss him on the lips. Before my lips could touch his own I was yanked back by a hand and dragged toward the cave. "Hey!" I protested. Zuko ignored me pulling me inside, and I looked back at Kale who rolled his eyes and followed.

It looked like Sokka wasn't the only over-protective brother anymore.

That night when we all laid down to sleep, I listened to everyone's breathing as they drifted into peaceful oblivion. Staring at the dark air above me, I was truthfully scared to go to sleep. What if Huo ripped my soul from my body again and kept me in the spirit world permanently? The idea of being taken from the ones I loved scared me.

Eventually I drifted to sleep, and to my relief Huo left me alone. When I woke up in the morning, I stretched out my stiff arms and then sat up. Iroh and Zuko were still asleep, but Kale was awake leaning against the cave staring off into space. Getting up, I walked over to him and sat cross legged beside him.

"You okay?" I asked.

He smiled weakly. "Yeah… I'm just thinking about some things."

"Like what?"

He looked over at me. "I was thinking about how almost three months ago I was nothing but a tea serving orphan boy who had no one to even call a friend. My whole life I'd always been seen as nothing but a nuisance and a waste of everyone's time. When I was sent to the village by the fire lord I felt so insignificant and unwanted. I wanted to live but every time I tried I just felt dead."

His words made my heart ache for him. He'd been through so much. His father dying, my disappearance, then his brother dying, and then my dad kicked him out of the palace. It hurt me knowing how much suffering Kale had gone through.

"I never thought I'd ever be able to understand what true happiness was." When I looked up at him again, I was surprised to see a smile on his face. His hand caressed my cheek suddenly and I closed my eyes enjoying his warmth. "But then you came along and gave me what I'd been longing for… You and the others showed me what happiness really was. I'm so thankful every day that I found you."

"I'm glad I found you too," I said, and I truly meant it.

My cheeks blushed beat red as Kale placed his hand on the back of my neck and pulled me to him. His lips met my own and he kissed me causing me to melt into him. When we pulled away eventually, I leaned my head against Kale's chest as he held me in his arms. At the moment I wished I could stay that way forever.

"Do you think after all of this insanity and chaos, we can ever go on a real date?" I asked.

He hugged me closer to him. "Who knows… Ba Sing Sei has a lot of nice tea shops."

Closing my eyes, I sighed. "Sometimes, I wish this war would miraculously end so we wouldn't be the ones burdened to fight it. The world's depending on a couple of kids to defeat a man who no one else can defeat. Why do we have to be the ones to stop him while everyone else sits back and watches?"

"The others in this world have become cowards. They either surrender themselves over to the Fire Nation or they go into hiding. The Fire Nation is winning this war not just on force, but on fear."

Frowning, I closed my eyes tighter at the thought of my own fear. I was scared of the Fire Nation too. My father and his armies were strong, and they were already expanding their invasion across the four corners of the world. Even if I was given this responsibility and power to help Aang defeat my father, I was scared to do so. Maybe the greatest part of it was I didn't want to become like the Fire Nation. If I helped destroy my father, how did that make me any better than him?

"Why can't I have one day of just being human?" I muttered.

"You're so silly…" Kale softly said, and I felt him hug me tighter. "You're more human than anyone I've ever met. Spirits don't have a heart like yours."

Kale's words were just what I needed to hear. He was right… I did have a heart… One filled with love, compassion, and hope. Being with Kale always made me forget about my spirit half and bring out more of my human half. Kale actually made me feel like a human as a whole.

"_I'll win Amber… You'll be mine soon," _Huo hissed in my head but his words did not effect me. I wasn't ready to lose what I had. There was no way I was letting Huo take me away from Kale or my family.

"_I'll fight you till the end," _I hissed back in my head. _"You'll never win!"_

Huo tried to say something else but I ignored him and instead concentrated on Kales breathing and warmth.

About ten minutes passed that I was in Kale's arms till Zuko suddenly began to stir. Immediately Kale and I pulled apart and sat so it looked like we were just conversing. My brother sat up a moment later, rubbing his eyes and looking over at us with question. He must've seen my cheeks still beat red because he shot us a look of suspicion as he stood and went to wake Iroh.

When we were all woken up and ready to go we began to head back out into the desert. We walked for hours under the blazing sun. Though we stayed at the deserts edge we only stopped every now and then to rest in the shade of a rock and drink some water we'd caught in our one canteen. After six more long hours of walking and twenty blisters later, we finally found what we were looking for.

Climbing upward a large sandy hill, we arrived at the top of the dune where below we could see a small collection of wooden and rocky buildings surrounded by a large rock wall. In the center of the very small community was an iceberg jutting out of the ground.

I'd never thought in all my days I'd see a piece of ice sitting in the middle of a desert. It didn't feel like it belonged in such a place. However the sight was nice, because it brought back memories of the South Pole. It was hard to believe that a few months ago Sokka, Katara, and I were living in our icy home and only knew the avatar through myths. Now we'd traveled to hundreds of places and the avatar was our best friend.

"It's really melted since I last was here," Iroh suddenly said as we began to walk down hill toward the oasis.

"Guess the desert does that to ice," Kale muttered.

Arriving at the tall earth wall we walked to the small town's opening and headed inside the gate. The town was surprisingly busy with merchants, desert travelers, and a few creepy guys all covered in white cloth that Kale called sand benders. He told me they were once honest desert men who transported goods across the sandy land, but overtime a lot of them became desert bandits. They creeped me out and I decided to stay away from them.

Iroh began to lead us toward a building at the end of the town. Following him, we were all growing curious to know who Iroh knew in this kind of place.

Just as we were about ten feet from the door something caught the corner of my eye and I froze. Looking across the crowd of people, I saw two men I couldn't believe were actually here. I'd never imagined I'd ever see these two men again in my life.

Xin Fu and Master Yu stood about ten yards away, and they were looking directly at me. Why was the guy from the arena that Toph beat up and Toph's old earth bending teacher here? Xin Fu pointed at me and the other man nodded with what appeared to be uncertainty. They started to come toward me and my eyes widened when I realized I needed to get them away from Iroh and Zuko. If they saw my brother and uncle and knew who they were, they'd try to capture all of us.

Xin Fu was a greedy man who only cared about money, so he'd probably be very interested in the reward on all our heads.

"Amber?" Kale began, looking back at me when he noticed I hadn't stepped in the door with the rest of them. "Are you okay?"

Looking back over at the two men coming toward me, I knew I had to get them away from my family and Kale. "Um… I'll be there in a few minutes. I need to do something really quick. You go ahead," I said to him.

He seemed a bit unsure, but I smiled encouragingly at him and he nodded turning and going into the shop. When he was gone I turned and headed opposite from the building, hoping I'd lead them both away.

As I headed through the small oasis, I looked back seeing if Xin Fu and Master Yu were following me. They were, and Xin Fu looked ready to pound my face in the dirt. He probably wasn't happy Aang and I escaped him and he lost out on all that money a few days ago.

Wow… It was hard to believe that only happened a few days ago. It felt like years ago.

Before I could actually take off into a run to try and lose the men, the ground below me shot up and I was flung forward onto the hot desert sand. Wincing from the burn of the ground to the pain radiating in my muscles, I tried to stand quickly so I could face the two men I knew were the cause.

Just as I stood and turned spitting sand from my mouth, I saw Xin Fu pace toward me with narrowed eyes. Master Yu followed behind looking a bit unsure if this was a good idea.

"Well… well," I composed myself and calmly said, crossing my arms and narrowing my eyes. "Xin Fu, right? What brings you out of the arena and across the desert? Shouldn't you be gambling more of your money… oh wait, that's right. Your star player ran off with the avatar." Smirking, I saw Xin Fu scowl at this comment as he approached.

He grabbed my shirt collar when he got in front of me and pulled me forward so his brown eyes were piercing into my own. "Speaking of the Beifong girl… Where is she?"

"Let me guess… Toph's parents paid you to capture her and bring her home. Well sorry to burst your bubble pal, but Toph's not here. I split up with her and the others a while ago."

He growled and threw me on the ground hard making me wince again from the pain. "It doesn't matter either way… At least we can make a profit off of you and your brother."

My eyes widened and I looked up at him with terror. He grinned now. "I know all about you Princess Amber… and I also know that those three travelers you're with are the retired General Iroh, banished Prince Zuko, and that other fire nation brat. All three are traitors to the Fire Nation if I'm not mistaken. I don't care much for the General or brat, but your brother and you together, a wanted prince and princess… that will fetch a very nice price on the market."

Growling, I snapped, "You're nothing but a greedy selfish scumbag!" Then jumping to my feet I turned and smashed my fist into his jaw. The force bruised my hand but it was worth it.

He howled in pain and stumbled back while Master Yu watched with terror. Grabbing some sand from the ground with my good hand, I watched as Xin Fu went to jump toward me, his lip bloody from where I socked him. As he reached for me I threw the sand in his eyes with determination. He screamed out in pain as his eyes burned, and I took my chance to run. Master Yu seemed unsure what to do as I took off back the way I came.

"What are you waiting for fool? Grab her!" Xin Fu shouted. Looking back, I saw he was still trying to rub the sand from his eyes while Yu watched unsure what to do. Sighing with relief, I ran back toward the building uncle had originally led everyone in.

Running inside, I winced from the change of lighting and tried to adjust my sight. Looking around the room where people were seated at tables licking ice from bowls, a man stood behind a counter wiping it down with a rag, and a few men stood or sat in small circles talking, I found Zuko, Iroh, and Kale seated at a circular table with an older looking man who was playing Pai Sho.

Rushing over to them, I clutched my pulsing hand to my chest and stopped at their table out of breath. "We have to get out of here," I managed to say, my heart rate pounding rapidly. They all looked up at me as if I was going insane.

"What are you talking about?" Kale asked.

"There's no time to explain. They'll be here any minute!"

Zuko now spoke. "Who?"

Opening my mouth to answer, I was cut off.

"There she is!" Xin Fu's voice suddenly growled from across the room, and I gasped turning to see him and Master Yu come into the shop. Xin Fu looked like he was in pain and if I wasn't about to be captured I'd have smiled at my handy work.

"Amber… What did you do?" Zuko asked.

Kale jumped up and immediately grabbed the hilt of his water tribe sword ready to fight. "Why are they here?"

"They were looking for Toph, but they found me instead," I answered.

Zuko now stood as well. "You know those two?"

"Yeah… They think you and I will fetch a hefty sum if they catch us," I said, searching for another way out.

Xin Fu and the Yu dude started to head toward us and I tightened my good hand ready to fight. Instead the older man at the table shouted, "I knew it! You all are wanted criminals with a bounty on your heads!"

We all looked at the man with terror realizing he had just given us away to every bandit in the building. He now pointed at Xin Fu and shouted, "You think you're going to capture them and collect all that gold?"

At the word gold all chaos broke loose. Fights started in the room mostly centered around Xin Fu and Yu.

"Come on!" The old man suddenly said. It hit me then. This old man was the friend Iroh had been talking about. He was only trying to help us get away. We all followed the man as we snuck out of the chaotic building and into the bright sunlit world. Racing across the small town we left the chaotic sounds of the fighting and found ourselves running to a less crowded part of the area. There we found a row of buildings made completely out of rock. The old man led us into one which I found out was a flower shop and shut the wooden door behind us.

We made our way past crates and pots of flowers toward a wooden door at the back of the shop. When we got to the door, the old man with us turned and looked at uncle now with a smile. "It is an honor to welcome such a high-ranking member of the Order of the White Lotus. Being a Grand Master, you must know so many secrets."

My ears became alert now as I heard what this man was saying to my uncle. Order of the White Lotus? So uncle was a part of a secret club?

Zuko scowled. "Now that you played Pai Sho, are you going to do some flower arranging, or is this club going to offer some real help?"

Wincing a bit by how annoyed Zuko was getting, I saw uncle was unfazed. "You must forgive my nephew. He is not an initiate and has little appreciation for the cryptic arts."

The old man nodded at my uncle, and then turned knocking on the wooden door. A small sliding wooden window opened in the middle of the door where a man's eyes were seen as he stared at us through the peephole. "Who knocks at the guarded gate?"

"One who has eaten the fruit and tasted its mysteries," Iroh responded. The door opened with a creak and Iroh and the old man entered. We went to follow but the door shut in our faces. Iroh cracked the door open and said to us, "I'm afraid it's members only. Wait out here."

As he disappeared inside to hang out with his secret club we all sat against the wall of the room we were in waiting for uncle to come out. As we did I held my pulsing hand in my other wishing I hadn't hit Xin Fu so hard. Luckily I'd only bruised it so it would feel better in a few hours.

"What do you think they're talking about in there?" Kale suddenly asked.

"They're probably just making tea and playing Pai Sho," Zuko muttered.

"I'm sure whatever it is, it's important seeing as we're not allowed in," I said, staring up at the ceiling above. We sat in silence a bit longer and I noticed my hand was feeling a little better. Sighing with relief, I pulled my knees close to me to try and get more comfortable.

"Who were those guys back there?" Zuko suddenly asked, trying to strike a conversation.

Hugging my knees, I muttered, "They're nothing but selfish greedy men who only care about money. One of the guys tried to capture me and Aang a while back, but we were able to escape. Now he wants to capture me and you so he can get the reward money on our heads. The other guys just tagging along for the profit."

"They both seem like pleasant people then," Zuko spat.

Kale sighed. "Why can't we just have one day where were not running for our lives? We really need a vacation."

"Last time I tried to have a vacation my youngest sister tried to capture me. I don't think vacationing would work," Zuko muttered.

We all frowned at the thought of Azula. One day that girl would get what's coming for her. I just hoped that day was soon.

Eventually Uncle came back out and the old man from before followed him. Kale and Zuko had fallen asleep a few minutes before and awoke with a start at the sound of the door. When Uncle came into view we all stood ready to interrogate him to find out what he'd been discussing for so long.

"What's going on? Is the club meeting over?" Zuko asked.

Iroh smiled. "Everything is taken care of. We're heading to Ba Sing Sei."

"Wow… How'd you manage that?" Kale asked.

My uncle had a mischievous look in his eyes. "I have my ways."

The older man now said, "The city is filled with refugees. No one will notice four more."

Iroh added, "We can hide in plain sight there. And it's the safest in the world from the Fire Nation. Even I couldn't break through the city." I knew what Uncle was referring to. He'd gone to battle to try and penetrate through the giant wall of Ba Sing Sei, but he was unable to do so because of the Earth Kingdom's defense. We would be safe there.

Hopefully…

A man came through the front door of the flower shop suddenly. He was maybe late twenties with earth kingdom clothing. In his hands were pieces of paper. "I have the passports for our guests, but there are two men out on the streets looking for them," the man said.

We immediately rushed to one of the shop windows and saw through it Xin Fu and Master Yu were questioning people who walked by. My eyes widened and I backed away. "There's no way we can make it out of here without causing a scene."

The old man with us chuckled. "I have an idea."

Somehow we found ourselves stepping into some flower pots in the shop. The pots were thankfully big enough for each of us to get in, even uncle. As we were snuck out of the town inside these tight cramped clay objects, I winced uncomfortably from the movement of the wagon our pots were sitting on. The journey lasted for a good thirty minutes till finally all movement stopped.

A nock on the pot I was in assured me it was okay to come out, and with stiff muscles I managed to stand up so half my body was out of the pot. When I looked around I saw we were at the edge of the dessert where a rocky canyon began again.

Kale was already out of his pot and helped me out of mine which I was relieved and thankful. When we all were out and managed to stretch our stiff muscles, the young man who'd brought us our passports earlier and who had been pulling the cart, turned to us with a smile.

"If you just head east from here it will bring you straight to Full Moon Bay where you can catch a ferry into the city." He then bowed to Iroh. "It was an honor meeting you Grand Master."

Iroh bowed back. "You as well, young Lotus."

The man then turned to me and bowed too. "You truly are as the elders said. It was an honor to meet you." He then turned and left and I watched him go with surprise. What was that about?

As we headed into the forest to start our journey toward the refugee port that would take us to Ba Sing Sei, I couldn't help but ponder over what that man had said. What were the elders saying about me?

Looking over at uncle with question, I asked, "The man before… What did he mean when he said 'You truly are as the elders said'?"

Iroh smiled with knowing. "You are well known amongst many people, Amber. Your story has traveled throughout the world from your birth to now. People are aware of the spiritual part inside of you, and they are expecting great things from you."

"How would they know that though… about the spirit part of me? I've only ever told you and the others."

He smiled. "You're story has traveled everywhere. Even if you have not told others about your spiritual side it does not mean they do not assume. You've done unbelievable things in the past. Things only a spirit could have the capability to do. You cooled lava, stopped someone from fire bending, and your own fire is that of another world. The four corners of the world are learning more and more about you and your spiritual power every day."

Sighing, I crossed my arms a bit annoyed. "It's not a power… It's a heavy burden that I do not want. How can I be expected to kill my father? Even if I hate the man I don't want to kill him."

"Perhaps there is another path you can take… When you stopped Zuko's fire bending, it's something I've never seen before. If you're able to stop the Fire Lord's bending, then you can give the avatar a fighting chance. If you say Roku and Huo want you to show the world the true meaning of fire, then do that by first bringing peace back to the world. When you bring peace back to the world, then people will start to listen. Just remember one thing: You're not alone in this."

Nodding, I smiled a bit reassured by this. "Yeah… I guess so."

Uncle placed his hand on my shoulder, saying, "I believe in you. You will do great things in the future."

As we continued to walk I thought back on what Iroh had said. _You're not alone in this. _This lightened my heart a bit. My uncle was right. I wasn't alone… I had so many people around me.

Iroh, Zuko, Kale, Sokka, Katara, Toph, and Aang…. They were all with me. Even if we were worlds apart they would always be there in my heart. No matter where the road took me in the future, I'd always have them to remind me just how human I truly am.

* * *

**A/N: I feel so terrible for how long this chapter took. College is so crazy! I'm going to start on the next chapter as soon as I can. Sorry the wait has become longer, but I have no time to write it seems. Thanks to those still following this story. If you read this note then here's an exciting hint: Jet will be in the next chapter. ;) **


	11. To Forgive

**Here's the next chapter. It's a little shorter than others so sorry about that. I hope you enjoy this chapter though. Read and Review, and thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter. You all rock! =)**

The sun was in the center of the sky and we'd been walking for almost a day now. We were tired, but with the thought of almost reaching Ba Sing Sei we kept moving. Uncle promised us we were getting close when we started to walk by a river. There were more trees now so we had a lot more shade from the sun than back in the desert. We eventually reached a tunnel like passage near the river that seemed to go very deep in a cave. It almost reminded me of that tunnel we got stuck in a few weeks ago with Oma and Shu.

"This is the entrance to Full Moon Bay," Uncle assured. "It will take us straight to the port."

"Why is it so… secret?" I asked, looking around for any sign saying _Full Moon Bay_ or _This way to earth kingdom._

Uncle answered, "They make it so it's hidden from the fire nation."

Kale smirked. "Yet you know about it."

"There are many things I know," Uncle confirmed, then started to head inside the tunnel. The three of us looked at one another unsure, but eventually Zuko shrugged and began to follow Iroh into the dark tunnel. Kale and I walked behind him, and as we got deeper and deeper in the pitch black cold rocky earth, we finally saw a small shine of light.

Approaching the light, we saw a line of torches on the rocky wall lighting the rest of the path. At the very end of the path we found an Earth Kingdom soldier standing guard against the wall of the end of the tunnel. We'd reached a dead end.

"State your business," the soldier ordered.

We all stopped when we got close enough and I could see the soldier's eyes dart between the four of us with suspicion.

Uncle stepped forward and answered, "We've come to seek refuge."

The soldier stared at the four of us for another second, till finally he shrugged and turned knocking on the wall behind him. There seemed to be a pause, till suddenly the ground below us began to shake and we stumbled a bit. Then the wall behind the soldier lowered and we were gestured forward. Stepping on the other side of the wall, my eyes widened horror.

We were in a giant cave towering almost thirty feet above us. The stone platform we were on stretched almost a hundred yards. There was a giant stone wall at the end of the platform where I assumed the boarding area for the ferry was. That's not what made my eyes widen though. What made my eyes widen was the four hundred men, women, and children waiting to catch a ferry. Some had set up tents, while others were seated in circles with the only supplies they had.

The fire nation had caused so many people to suffer. It broke my heart.

Uncle led us over to a lady seated on a high chair with a desk in front of her. Taking out the passports in his shirt sleeve, he handed them to the lady who looked at the passports then down at us. "Mushi, Lee, Han, and Raina… You all may board the next ferry."

At the name Han, Kale's mouth almost dropped. When we got our tickets and started to head over to the departing deck on the other side of the giant stone wall, I heard Kale say, "Han… What kind of name is Han?"

Frowning, I said, "At least your name doesn't sound like the weather."

Zuko looked back at us with a smirk. "I don't feel bad for my name anymore after hearing yours."

"I think Han and Raina are perfect names," Uncle Iroh said as we reached the other side of the wall where already people were boarding a large wooden ferry.

"So what exactly is our story, if anyone does happen to ask?" I asked.

Uncle answered, "We all come from a village that was conquered by the Fire Nation. We managed to escape and made our way here. You and Zuko are brother and sister, I am your uncle, and Kale is a family friend. We just have to remember not to give anyone our real names."

"Why did I have to have a fake name?" Kale asked. "No one knows-"

"Don't think so low of yourself Kale. You're names starting to be known everywhere as well. I heard from The White Lotus that there are posters popping up with a bounty on your head as well," Uncle said. "It comes with being a traitor of the Fire Nation."

"Oh…" Kale said, and I could see this news somewhat made him guilty.

Smiling at him with reassurance, I said, "You chose the right path, Kale."

He smiled back at me knowing I was right.

Finally we boarded onto the ferry and began to blend in with the crowd of refugees. As we mingled with the men, women, and children on the boat we came to learn a lot of them were kicked out of their homes by the Fire Nation, or forced to flee from fires set by soldiers. At the thought of the fire nation setting homes on fire I frowned even more. Why did fire have to be used for so much violence?

Eventually the ferry began to leave Full Moon Bay, and the four of us stood against the railing of the ferry watching as the port grew smaller and smaller till all we saw was a small line of land in the distance. We were on open water now, and there was no going back.

After a good thirty minutes of standing against the rail, an Earth Kingdom soldier walked by and handed us each a bowl of soup. It reminded me of the soup back at the Earth Bender prison when Haru, Katara, and I were prisoners. Cringing at the familiar food, I placed it on the ferry railing and pushed it aside in disgust.

"Who would have thought, after all these years, I'd return to the scene of my greatest military disgrace...as a tourist!" We all looked over with disbelief to see Uncle put a straw hat decorated with flowers on his head. Kale laughed while I rolled my eyes.

Zuko scowled. "Look around, we're not tourist, we're refugees!" He takes a sip of the food I should have warned him about and spits it out with disgust. "Ugh! I'm sick of eating rotten food, sleeping in the dirt… I'm tired of living like this."

"Aren't we all?" a voice suddenly said. A voice I never thought I'd ever have to hear again. Immediately my body grew stiff and I felt my heart pound hard. My mind took me back to a few months ago. To the time when he tried to kill me and I was lucky to have escaped in enough time.

_Jet looked at me with fury. "No! You're supposed to be dead!"_

_Glaring at him, I said, "Sorry to burst your bubble."_

Oh my gosh! If Jet found out it was me he'd try to kill me again. Not to mention he'd grow suspicious of Iroh and Zuko. Just to take a small glance so I could confirm my fears, I hid my face behind my hair as I looked over at the owner of the voice. Jet stood about ten feet away, the girl Smellerbee and the boy Longshot with him. Immediately I looked away and tried to keep my trembling body under control.

"What's wrong?" Kale asked, touching my shoulder with concern. My ears stayed alert as Jet started to talk to my brother and Uncle about stealing food from the captain.

"It's him…" I said low enough for Kale to hear.

"Him?"

"The one I told you about," I answered. "The one who tried to kill me a few months ago… Jet."

When I looked over to meet Kale's eyes I saw his eyes were wide with at first horror, and then they narrowed as he grit his teeth with rage. "I'll kill him," Kale hissed.

Immediately I grabbed his arm with my blood going cold. "You can't! As long as he doesn't know who I am, then he'll leave me alone. There's no use in getting revenge. It will get us nowhere." Kale seemed to at first want to argue, but then he relaxed and sighed giving in.

"Hey… You coming too?" Jet suddenly asked Kale, and it was then I felt his presence right behind me.

Kale remained calm and turned to face Jet. "No… I think I'm going to sit this out. I don't want to steal."

"It's not stealing," Jet defended. "It's surviving."

"Well in that case…" Kale began, "My answers still no." If I wasn't so scared right now I'd have laughed.

A brief pause passed, till suddenly I heard Jet speak again. "How about you… You want to help?" It took a second for me to realize who Jet was talking to. Then I realized it was me.

What should I say? If Jet hears my voice he'll definitely know it's me. My heart rate increased again as I searched for a way of escape.

"Raina hasn't been feeling well since we left our village. I think she'll probably want to sit this one out too," Kale said.

There was another pause till finally Jet said, "Alright… Come on guys. We need to formulate a plan." As they started to walk away, I looked over to see Zuko follow them. He looked back at me with question and I smiled reassuringly letting him know I was okay. When they turned the corner of the ferry disappearing on the other side, I finally relaxed.

To my surprise tears poured down my eyes as I could finally breathe again.

_"I know who you are. Silly Katara told me everything last night Princess."_

Jet scared me… a lot. Even more than my father scared me. If Jet found out it was me, he'd hurt me. He'd hurt me bad. The thought terrified me even more.

Uncle suddenly placed a comforting hand on my shoulder saying, "From the way you reacted to that young man, I'm assuming you've met him before."

Wincing at the memories, I said, "He tried to kill me… I'm not very excited about seeing him again."

My Uncle's eyes widened by what I said, but he could tell I didn't really want to talk about it. Instead we remained silent as we found a nice spot on deck to sit on. The sun was beginning to lower in the sky, so that meant by the time Zuko and the others returned Jet wouldn't be able to see my face.

Almost three hours passed of sitting on deck, and I was beginning to worry about Zuko as it got darker. Was he okay? Jet better not have hurt him. The thought made me grit my teeth with rage. If Jet hurt my brother then I'd be the one to kill him.

The moon's rays were the only source of light on this crowded ferry. People huddled in circles talking as the ferry we were on continued to trail across the bay. The cold moist air sent shivers through my body and I pulled my knees close trying to get warm. Luckily the fire inside me didn't make me as cold as everyone else.

"I wonder what they're doing…" Kale said.

Sighing, I pulled my knees tighter to my chest. "Whatever it is, I hope Zuko's okay."

Uncle, who sat cross legged in front of me, sighed. "Your brother will be fine…I just had hoped his thievery days were over. I guess I was wrong."

Kale responded, "What do you mean by that?"

"He used to rob wealthy travelers during our time in hiding," Uncle began. "When I voiced my feelings on the matter with him that's when he left me."

Rolling my eyes, I muttered, "He's stubborn."

"Yes… Very stubborn," Uncle agreed.

Footsteps suddenly approached then and looking up I saw Zuko, Smellerbee, and Longshot headed over to us. Zuko held some containers in his hand. Immediately I looked away when they sat across from me, and I tried to cover my face with my hair as much as I could.

As Zuko passed the containers of food around, I saw past my hair he was staring at me with question as he handed me my food. Taking the food, I looked away not wanting to speak. If I spoke Smellerbee would know and lunge at me. That girl could really hurt you, especially with a knife.

As we began to eat the rather tasty food that Jet and his gang had gathered, I heard Uncle ask, "So, what brings a bunch of kids like you here?"

Smellerbee calmly answered, "We we're forced out of our home by the Fire Nation. We decided to go to Ba Sing Sei and start a new life. We've all done things were not proud of, and we want to have a fresh start."

Immediately I resisted the urge to scowl. Fresh start huh? Was that decided after they tried to kill me?

"I hear Ba Sing Sei's good for that kind of thing. A fresh start is something everyone needs," Uncle said. Then after another brief pause he asked, "I never caught your names by the way?"

Smellerbee answered, "My name's Smellerbee, and this hear is Longshot."

"Smellerbee… That's an interesting name for a young man," Iroh said.

Just as Smellerbee went to snap at Uncle, I laughed cutting her off, unable to believe Uncle thought she was a boy. Everyone looked at me with surprise, seeing as it was the first sound I'd made all night. Quickly I covered my mouth and looked away, but I caught Smellerbee and Longshot's attention. Oh crap.

"Hey… Do we know you?" Smellerbee suddenly asked.

Immediately I looked down trying to hide my face more, my eyes wide as I realized how stupid I'd just been. "Um… No…" I said, praying she wouldn't recognize my voice.

Kale immediately drew attention away, saying, "Smellerbee's a girl Mushi… I think that's what Raina was trying to point out."

Glancing over at Uncle, I saw he looked ashamed and apologized immediately. Smellerbee just shrugged it off, but I could feel her heated gaze on me. She was trying to see my face. She felt she knew me, and I could tell she knew I knew her.

"From what I heard people eat like this every night in Ba Sing Sei," Jet suddenly said, taking a seat beside Longshot and right in front of me. He held his own bowl of food in his hand. Immediately I dropped my gaze even more. The boy who tried to kill me was seated right in front of me. "I can't wait to set my eyes on that giant wall."

"It is a magnificent sight," Uncle commented.

"So you've been there before?" Jet asked, curious to know.

"Once… When I was a different man," Uncle said with regret.

"I've done some things in my past that I'm not proud of. But that's why I'm going to Ba Sing Se, for a new beginning. A second chance," Jet said.

Instead of laughing at Jets lies, this time I scowled and slammed my bowl of food down. Standing, I went to leave. I couldn't take Jet's bluffs and crap anymore. If I stayed I'd probably fry him right where he sat. That wouldn't be good for the others so I decided to just walk away.

"Am- Raina… Where are you going?" Zuko asked, quickly covering up my real name.

Trying not to show my rage, I said with a leveled voice. "I need to stretch my muscles… I've been sitting too long." Just as I went to leave, I glanced back at Jet to see if he had caught on. His eyes stared straight at me, and I knew he was suspicious. Without saying another word, I quickly walked away hoping Jet wouldn't follow.

Walking past the happy refugees who ate their stolen food with pleasure, I walked over to the railing on the boat and looked down at the dark waters below. My blood was pulsing through my veins as I boiled with fury. So Jet wasn't proud, huh? Well he shouldn't be! First he tries to kill a whole village, and then he tries to kill me! There's no telling how many people he's actually killed. Jet shouldn't be proud!

"_People can change," _my heart tried to say.

My gut shouted,_ "Not Jet… That murderous monster will never change!" _

Gripping the railing hard, I tried to contain the fire that so longed to escape me. Jet could have a second chance all he wanted, but I'd always remember him for what he was in the past. He was a murderous monster who only cared about revenge. He was no better than Zhao, Azula, or my father.

"_But Zuko changed…" _my heart spoke again. _"So maybe Jet changed too."_

Growling, I clutched my head as I tried to battle with my heart and my thoughts. How could I trust Jet's words, when he's lied before? He promised not to hurt me and in the end tried to kill me. How do I know he's really changed?

With a hard sigh, I calmed and managed to cool down. Turning, I started to head back, deciding avoiding Jet wouldn't solve the problem. Plus I was starving.

As I walked back to the other side of the ferry, I was just passing a stairwell that led up into the control room and other parts of the ferry. Something grabbed my forearm from underneath the stairwell and as I tried to scream a hand covered my mouth. Soon a warm arm was wrapped around my body locking my arms to my side and restraining me from escape.

Struggling, I kicked and let out a muffled scream as I was pulled back into the dark shadow underneath the wooden stairwell.

"Calm down," Jet's voice suddenly said. "I'm not going to hurt you… I just want to talk."

Even if he said he wasn't going to hurt me that made me only struggle more. He pulled me tighter to his body, which happened to be a lot taller than I remembered. His arms were strong, so escape was hard. Escape wasn't impossible but it was more of an effort than I really wanted to take.

After struggling a bit longer, I finally stopped deciding there was no point. If Jet really tried to kill me, then of course I'd definitely use my water tribe warrior skills on him. If I could give Turk a broken nose, then I could give Jet a broken jaw.

Jet sighed, glad to see I'd stopped struggling. He turned then and shoved my body against the wooden wall beside us. His hand still covered my mouth, and his other hand was pressed against my shoulder. Through cracks in the stairwell, I saw from the light of the moon Jet's brown eyes stare right into my own.

"I'm going to let go of your mouth now… Don't scream or it's getting covered again," Jet threatened.

Deciding not to test him, I nodded letting him know I understood. He sighed and pulled his hand away from my mouth. When my mouth was free, I tried to lie, "Please… Let me go… I don't know what you want…"

Jet smirked, and I could almost see he was amused. "I'm not a fool, Amber. I know it's you. You may be able to hide that pretty face under your hair, but the way you gave me cold shoulder back there was a huge eye opener." Immediately I wanted to kick myself. If I hadn't stomped away he wouldn't have caught me.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I tried, though I knew I was already discovered. "I'm just a refugee."

"Stop trying, Amber. You've been found out," Jet stated. Immediately I hung my head in defeat. "What are you doing here?"

The question took me a bit off guard, and I looked up at him surprised as his eyes burned with curiosity.

"Sokka, Katara, and Aang aren't with you… Why are you with these refugees?" Jet asked.

There was no point telling him I wasn't who he said I was, so instead I decided to focus more on protecting my brother and uncle. Immediately I tried to come up with a lie. "I got separated from the others during a battle. These refugees offered to help me find a way into Ba Sing Sei so I tagged along with them."

Jet now sneered, and I felt his hand on my shoulder tighten making me wince. "Then tell me something… Why is your name Raina? Why are you telling people that Mushi and Lee are your family, and the dude Han is your friend? Why are you lying?"

Scowling, I decided to try and change the subject. I hissed, "Why are _you_ lying? You say you're not proud of your past… That's a load of bull!"

The boy who I hated with a passion, now frowned and let go of my shoulder crossing his arms. He regretfully said, "I'm not… That wasn't a lie."

"Yeah right… You honestly expect me to believe that you regret what you did in the past? You almost killed me Jet! You almost killed men, women, and children and you didn't even care!" I hissed, my blood starting to boil again. "Why should I believe you?!"

"Because I've changed… Your sister showed me how much of a monster I truly had become when she froze me to that tree, and I didn't like that side of me. I'm sorry for trying to kill you, and I'm sorry for trying to kill everyone else. You have to believe me," Jet said.

Staring at him for a few minutes, taking in what he said, I tried to find the words to speak. My heart was pounding now as I took in what Jet said. _I'm sorry for trying to kill you. _

He was sorry? He had sounded so sincere too. Could someone really change? Could Jet really change?

Taking in a hard breath, I finally calmed completely and brushed Jet's hand off my shoulder. Crossing my arms, I leaned back against the wall and looked away as I started to speak. "Even if you say that, and I do in a way believe you, I'm still not a big fan of you."

Jet seemed relieved that I didn't hate him anymore, and he sighed taking a step back. He spoke after a moment of silence. "I really meant what I said to Mushi. I do want a second chance."

Clenching my jaw, I tried to push back the old Jet and be more welcoming toward the new. "Are you saying that with this second chance, you want me to give you a second chance also?"

Jet nodded. "I feel terrible for what I did to you. You were only trying to save the world from the fire nation, and I was blaming you for the side you weren't even on. You were on our side, but I blindly looked past that and only saw you as the enemy. You never deserved to be drugged and tied to a dam. I'm truly sincerely sorry for that… do you ever think you can find it in your heart to forgive me?"

Did I forgive Jet? Did I truly want to forgive him?

Dropping my arms to my side, I nodded. "I guess I forgive you… I still don't entirely trust you, but I do forgive you. Besides, I'm tired of hating people. I just want to be able to have a heart at peace, and if forgiving you is the first step then I'm willing to take it. But…" Looking up I narrowed my eyes, "If you try anything to hurt me again I'll burn you to a crisp."

He now stepped forward so he was only an inch away from me. "I'm so glad," he said. "I was afraid you'd hate me forever." Then he leaned forward, placing his hand beside my head, and my eyes widened as I realized what he was about to do.

Oh spirits no! There was no way in the world I was letting this dude kiss me.

Grabbing his hand, I twisted it making him turn and hiss in pain. Then I wrapped my leg around his own and knocked him off his feet onto the ground. Crossing my arms, I towered over him as I said firmly, "Sorry, Jet… But I'm actually taken."

He winced, standing and rubbing his hand where I'd twisted it pretty hard. When he stood straight again and met my eyes once more, I saw him smirk with amusement. "So the rumors were true… I'd heard the Fire Nation Princess was an elite warrior now. I didn't really believe it, so I thought I'd see for myself. You've really changed. There's a new fire inside you that I really find interesting."

It was then I realized that's why Jet was going to kiss me. He just wanted me to fight back so he could confirm his suspicions about my new strong personality. "You could've just asked me to show you some moves instead of trying to kiss me," I muttered bitterly.

He shrugged. "I wasn't really trying it just to see your moves. I really did want to kiss you. I didn't get to kiss Katara, so I wondered if I'd be able to kiss you. I guess you both are too good for me."

Scowling, I snapped, "You're such a player!"

He smiled. "Now that's one thing that will never change about me."

Rolling my eyes, I tried to leave but he grabbed my shoulder again and stopped me. "Really Amber… Who are those people you're with?"

Now it was my turn to smile. "Like I said… They're just refugees who offered to help me."

He narrowed his eyes. "I don't believe you."

"Well you'll just have to not believe me then," I said, starting to pull from his hand.

He pulled me back again. "The dude Han… Is he the one you like?"

My eyes widened and I looked at Jet amazed. "What makes you say that?"

His eyes shined in the moonlight. "When you walked off he tried to go after you. Mushi stopped him saying you just needed some time alone. He's been fidgeting for the last hour."

"And for good reason," Kale suddenly hissed. His hand came out of nowhere and yanked Jet's off of my shoulder. As soon as I was free I was pulled into Kale's arm. "You have no right to touch her like that! Leave her alone!"

Sighing, I said, "It's okay, Kale. Jet and I are cool now. We were just talking."

Kale stepped between Jet and I more, his arm still wrapped protectively around me. "I don't care. I still don't trust him."

"Kale… I thought your name was Han?" Jet asked, suddenly confused. My eyes widened as I realized my mistake. Oh crap, now Jet would really be curious.

"Come on, Amber," Kale said, pulling me away from Jet. "Let's get out of here." As we walked away, I looked back to see Jet watch us go. He now stared at me suspiciously as Kale and I turned the corner and left him behind.

As the night went on, and I lied near Uncle Iroh, Zuko, and Kale to sleep, I had a bad feeling the Jet I'd just met was about to stick his nose somewhere he didn't belong. Trying to push the thought of Jet aside I eventually fell into a dreamless sleep.

When I woke up in the morning, it was because someone was shaking my shoulder. Groaning, I opened my eyes only to wince at the bright sunlight. When I focused I saw my brother kneeling beside me. "We're approaching land," he said.

Managing to sit up, I winced at how soar my back felt from lying on the hard wooden floor. It was probably also bruised from being slammed against the wall by Jet the night before. "What time is it?" I asked, rubbing my eyes and trying to stretch my stiff muscles.

"It's just passed sunrise… Jet told us the captain said we'd be docking in a few minutes," Zuko answered.

Immediately my eyes widened. "You spoke to Jet?" I asked.

My brother nodded a bit confused by my reaction. "Yeah…?"

Sighing, I decided not to freak out over it. Looking around, I saw Kale and Uncle were standing by the ferry rail staring at the land approaching in the distance. Getting to my feet, I walked beside Zuko as we both stepped up to the rail as well. My eyes widened when I saw the large stone wall in the distance. So that was Ba Sing Sei's great wall? The wall Uncle was unable to penetrate.

"It looks so much bigger than I imagined," I said, my breath shaky as I tried to imagine what it was like inside the city.

"They say it's the best place to be right now, safe from the fire nation," Jet suddenly said, making me jump and turn to see him and the other freedom fighters. Smellerbee's eyes pierced through me like daggers as she knew who I was, and I remembered the moment when she sliced her knife on my hand a few months ago. She probably still hated my guts. Longshot didn't meet my eyes, but I saw him smile a bit glad to see me again. Longshot was the only freedom fighter I actually liked.

Kale stepped closer to me, almost to protect me if Jet tried anything. "I hope your right," Uncle said, his mind seeming to wander off as he thought about life inside those walls.

"So what will you do when you get in the city?" Jet asked.

Iroh answered, "Hopefully find a job and place to stay. It would be nice to settle down and start our new life."

Jet nodded. "I'm ready to start a new life. This is a time of change for everyone." As he turned and started to leave again, he stopped and looked over at me with a smirk. "It was good seeing you again, Raina." When he said my fake name I knew he was teasing me. The way it rolled off his tongue made me narrow my eyes at him. Then he walked away with Smellerbee and Longshot at his heel, and I watched him go a bit confused.

Why hadn't he commented on Kale not really being Han, or Mushi and Lee not really being my family? Why was he acting like he didn't care. I'd thought Jet would pester me for hours to get answers, so why was he shrugging it off.

"What was that?" Zuko asked, looking at me with question.

"Jet knows who I am," I muttered.

"How?" Zuko asked, his eyes wide with surprise.

Crossing my arms, I turned around and looked down at the bay water. "Let's just say we met in the past and we're not very big fans of one another."

"Seemed to me he was a fan of you," Kale muttered. "Especially when he tried to kiss you last night."

My cheeks blushed beat red. "You saw that?"

"Yeah… It was pretty fun though watching you almost break his hand," Kale complimented. "It made me pretty content."

"He was just doing it to mess with me," I muttered, kind of annoyed by how much of a player Jet could be.

Kale's warm arms wrapped around me suddenly as he stood behind me and I felt his lips press on my cheek as he kissed me. When he pulled his lips away he whispered in my ear. "I would've torn him to bits if you hadn't been able to stop him."

"It's funny how a few months ago I wouldn't have been able to stop him… Guess that warrior training really did come in handy," I said, leaning back against Kale as his warm body eased the cool wind on my skin.

A throat cleared suddenly, and we both looked over to see Zuko watching the both of us with crossed arms. "I said no couple stuff," Zuko said, and then stepped over pulling us both apart.

Uncle chuckled. "Zuko's just jealous because he hasn't found love yet."

My brother pulled me behind him scowling. "No… I'm just making sure my little sister stays out of trouble."

Kale crossed his arms and looked at Zuko with a smirk. "What's wrong? You think I'm a bad influence?"

Zuko stepped forward so he was eye to eye with Kale. "Yeah… I actually do. My sister got into a lot of trouble because of you back at the palace. She'd sneak out to be with you and stay up all night, and then when she got back she slept till noon and got punished for it."

"Um, Zuko…" I began but was cut off.

"Just admit what you're really thinking… You don't like the fact that a peasant is dating your sister. Well I got news for you, buddy... I love Amber more than anything, and you can try all you want but you're not separating us again," Kale said firmly.

"Um guys…" I tried again.

Zuko clenched his fists snapping, "Get this through your skull… I'm not letting my guard down for one minute. As long as you're here I'm watching you and my sister like a hawk!"

"Guys!" I shouted now, trying to get their attention. They continued to argue and I was getting a bit annoyed that they were both ignoring me.

"Gentlemen!" Iroh suddenly snapped, and this time they shut up. Turning, they met Uncle Iroh's stern eyes and immediately stepped apart. "We will be together for a long time, so let's try to remain civil. Kale can love Amber if he wants to, and Zuko can be her overprotective brother if he wants to. Do we all agree?"

Kale and Zuko shot one another a heated glare but eventually they calmed and relaxed their fists. This made me calm as well, seeing as my heart had been racing scared they'd hurt each other.

"I agree," I answered, deciding Uncle's question was for everyone.

The other two sighed, and after a brief pause nodded. Their agreement made me fill with relief.

"Good… Now let's head to the front so when we dock we can get off of this vessel," Iroh said, trying to lead us along and end the conflict.

As we started to head over to the front of the ship, I heard Zuko say to Kale after a few minutes of silence, "Sorry... It's not that I think you're a horrible person. It's just I've lost her once already, and I guess the idea of you taking her away just makes me more over protective." I don't think I was supposed to hear what Zuko was saying, seeing as he was saying it in a low voice, but they didn't notice I was listening.

Kale responded, "I know how you feel. Now that I've found her I don't want to lose her again. I guess we're both scared she's going to just disappear again one day."

Kale's words made my heart ache. Frowning, I tried to concentrate on Iroh's back as he led us to the front of the ferry. Kale's words echoed through my mind though. _I guess we're both scared she's going to just disappear again one day._

The thought of being taken from Kale and Zuko made my heart heavy. What if Huo did take me away from this world forever? Then I truly would break both Zuko and Kale's hearts.

"_You'll defeat Huo," _Roku suddenly said, which took me a bit off guard. Roku was rooting for me. He wanted to see me become free.

"_Thanks..." _I thought, smiling at his encouragement. It felt good knowing one spirit was on my side.

We suddenly reached the crowd where everyone was gathered and waiting for the ferry to come to a stop. As we saw the land approach more and more, I glanced at the great wall of Ba Sing Sei with wonder. It was huge, almost fifty feet tall, and soldiers could be seen at the very top as they guarded the safe haven from the Fire Nation.

Who would've thought in all my years, I'd ever come to the great city of Ba Sing Sei?

As the ferry came to a stop, and the ramp was lowered, I felt Kale take my hand in his. The crowd began to move as they departed the ferry, and Uncle and Zuko went to follow the crowd. Kale and I hung back for a moment, and through the crowd of people I felt Kale wrap his arms around me and hug me close to him.

"I love you so much," Kale whispered in my ear.

Smiling, I hugged Kale back and rested my head on his chest. "I love you too."

There was no way I would allow myself to disappear. I loved being on earth with Kale and the others, and I wouldn't mind staying.

Huo would soon see how much of a fighter I truly had become.


End file.
